


Eine Kleine

by shigeka



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Also pining maybe, But not that much, Crossover, F/M, Kind of slow burn as well, M/M, Slash, Tohno Shouji (OMC), some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-25
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-14 22:38:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 80,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3428120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shigeka/pseuds/shigeka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Because Kaneki was his dear friend. That's why he'd do anything for him.</i> </p><p>A story in which Harry was made into the first Quinx in the world and got dragged into the tragedy that was Kaneki Ken's life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is Shigeka. This is the first fanfiction I’ve posted on AO3 and I’m super nervous.

**1\. The Beginning**

The fourth year of his schooling at Hogwarts was not a pleasant experience, Harry thought with a tired sigh as he sipped the cup of hot chocolate Koma Enji prepared especially for him when he saw him entering the cafe looking exhausted and a bit disheartened. Well, how can he not be disheartened? Not only he was forced to compete in a deadly tournament, he had to see a friend die, and to top of it all he had accidentally killed a man too.

It didn't even matter to him that the man he accidentally killed was someone who had been terrorizing his country and had been trying to kill him ever since his birth. He had never liked to hurt anyone, let alone kill them. It was bad enough that he had also accidentally killed another man, his teacher, just three years prior. Now he had more blood on his hands and the government was going to reward him for that. How depressing.

Sirius' attempt at cheering him up helped a great deal, but now that the man was not here with him all the bad things that he tried to forget began creeping back to haunt his mind. He was not looking forward to his fifth year at all, if his fifth year would be anything like his previous years. Maybe he should ask Sirius if he could be home schooled for the rest of his education later.

The warm liquid immediately calmed his nerves once it entered his system and he sighed again, now in contentment as he enjoyed the calm atmosphere of the cafe and the warmth that were spreading through his body. Though it was summer, the nights here were a bit chilly. Koma smiled seeing his reaction, obviously feeling proud that a customer enjoyed the drink he made so much and Harry smiled back timidly, still not used to the hospitality of the people here.

He looked out the window, seeing people walking by.

This was his 11th day here in Japan already, ever since his godfather, who had been proven innocent when Pettigrew were caught, decided to take him out on a vacation to take his mind off things.

Tokyo was a nice place, Harry thought with a smile. The people were nice and helpful, and he had found this nice café near the hotel that he and his godfather were staying that he was quickly becoming a regular at. Anteiku makes really good coffee (and hot chocolate too in this case) and the cafe's cakes are the best he had ever eaten, maybe even better than the one the elves made at Hogwarts.

"Sirius-san not with you today, Harry-kun?" Koma-san asked him as he made his way to the cashier, intending to go back to his hotel before it got too late. He smiled at the chubby waiter as he paid for his drink.

"Sirius said he had a business to attend to today, so unfortunately he can't accompany me." He answered.

"Oh, I see... well here's your change." He received some coins from the usually jovial man whose expression turned serious and concerned all of the sudden. "Um, Listen. I know you're a man and all and don't need to be told this, but… be careful on your way home, alright? Our district is not the safest place this time around. It'd sadden us if something happened to you."

He looked at the older man's eyes, saw the genuine concern there before he smiled and nodded at him. "I will. Thank you, Koma-san."

He put on his light jacket and stepped out of the café. The distance back to his hotel was only half an hour of walk away and he had been walking for about 10 minutes when a hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his arm, before he was pulled inside a narrow dark alleyway and pushed back until his back was met with a wall. That same hand released his arm and moved up to cover his mouth before he realized what was happening to him.

"Sssh..." his assaulter, a blond man wearing a fox mask that only covered his upper face, whispered beside his ear. "Don't scream."

 _What is this?_  Harry's mind raced.  _Is this robbery? Is he going to rob me?_

The man suddenly nuzzled his neck and inhaled deeply before Harry shivered as warm wet tongue licked the hollow of his neck.

_No wait, it's a pervert!_

He panicked and tried to push the man, who didn't even budge. He grew more frantic when he felt the man's teeth on his neck and pushed the man again when he felt his magic flared and the man was suddenly thrown away from him and onto a trashcan several feet away from their location.

Not questioning the small miracle that saved him, Harry began to race his feet, wanting to get away from the man as fast as he can. The man cursed and chased him when he recovered from the fall. In his haste to get away from the quickly approaching man, he didn't pay attention to where he was running and suddenly from his peripheral vision he saw a bright light before he heard a loud thump and found himself lying on the roadside.

 

 

When he woke up the next time, he was looking on an unfamiliar white ceiling.

Observing his surroundings with his slightly blurry eyes, he saw the unmistakable features of his godfather sitting on a sofa across the room. Using his right hand, which throbbed with pain even though he didn't see any injuries on it besides a few light scratches here and there, he tried to pry away the device that was attached to his face; a movement that alerted his godfather that he has woke up.

"Harry! Thank Merlin you're awake...! Do you know how worried I was when the hospital called me, saying that you've been in an accident? And stop prying that thing off your face, it's supposed to help you breathe!" The man stood up and fussed over him when he saw what he was trying to do.

"Accident...?" He croaked weakly, voice muffled by the device he was apparently forbidden to remove to the older man who squeezed his hand in response.

"You were hit by a muggle car. I... I was... the doctors spent ten hours trying to fix you in the surgery room." Sirius explained to him, his voice strangely hoarse. Was he crying? "How are you feeling now? Wait, your doctor told me to call for him when you wake up."

He watched from the corner of his eyes as the man fumbled with the many buttons beside his bed. While he was doing that, he observed the room he was placed in too. It seemed expensive, since the facilities looked high class. There was an IV bag attached to a pole beside his bed and he followed the line to see that it was inserted into his left arm.

"I feel... kind of… sore." He told his godfather when the man finally found the correct button for the nurse. "Where are my glasses?"

"Just 'kind of' sore? Harry, you punctured your lung and stomach, smashed your head on the pavement, broke your left arm,  _and_  your right leg too! You should be in massive pain right now." Sirius squeezed his uninjured arm again before he sat back down tiredly. "And your glasses didn't survive. But that's not important! You almost died, you—" the older man made a frustrated sound.

"I… did?" He asked, a bit surprised by the revelation. That sounds... really bad, actually. And yet... despite the soreness he was feeling, he felt fine. Maybe there were leftover anesthetic from the surgery that were numbing the pain for him, he thought as he noticed for the first time that his left arm was indeed encased in a white cast.

"You did. Doctor Kanou told me. That's why it took them so long in the surgery room."

"Doctor Kanou...?"

Sirius nodded. "He's the Head Doctor of this hospital, as well as the one who performed that surgery. I don't know how he could have done all that without the help of magic and potions. Muggles are incredible."

Sirius then told him about what happened when he was out cold. Apparently he was hit by a car and was injured badly enough that he almost lost his life. The one who hit him was terrified that he had just killed someone and drove away leaving him bleeding on the middle of the road half dead in fear that he would be put to prison.

Luckily someone witnessed this happening and contacted the ambulance fast. He was brought to a nearby hospital and the head of the hospital himself performed a ten-hour long surgery that was said to have nearly zero percent chance of success. Obviously since he was still alive, the surgery was a success.

There were knocking sounds from behind the door, ending the brief story time and Sirius stood up to open the door, revealing a middle aged man wearing a doctor coat.

"Doctor Kanou! I was just telling Harry here about you. Please come in." Sirius said, trying to sound cheerful through his tiredness as he stepped aside to let the doctor in.

"Is that so? I hope you only told him about the good things then." Doctor Kanou smiled kindly at Sirius before he turned that smile to him. "How are you feeling, Harry-kun?" the doctor asked as he walked up beside him.

He tried to return the smile as best as he can before he answered. "A bit sore, but other than that I feel fine."

"I'm glad that to hear that." The doctor told him as he looked at the various machines and examined his body thoroughly. "Well, as long as you keep taking your medicines and rest up properly, I think you will be out of here soon. I was afraid that your concussion was going to be worse than this, but you're already healing very nicely."

"Thanks to your care, Doctor."

"Please don't thank me. I'm just glad that you are feeling alright now. You should be more careful when crossing the street next time, though Harry-kun. You made Mr. Black here really worried that he hasn't slept since you were brought in."

He glanced at his godfather who was indeed looking really exhausted from across the room. "You really shouldn't neglect caring for your own health, Sirius. I'm fine."

Sirius shook his head adamantly. "But I have to stay with you! I let you out of my sight once and look what happened to you!"

"Sirius." He smiled tiredly at the man. "I'm sure that I'll be fine. I'm sorry for worrying you but please go back and get some rest, you look terrible. Doctor Kanou wouldn't let anyone hurt me here, right Doctor?"

The doctor nodded at him indulgently, an amused smile on his face as he silently observed the interactions between him and his godfather. "Of course. We wouldn't let anyone harm someone who is under our care. You can be sure of that."

He looked at his godfather again and smiled. "See?"

Sirius sighed and nodded, conceding defeat. "Alright. I'll go back, only after you've eaten and take your medicines though."

At the mention of food, his stomach rumbled loudly. He felt blood rushing to his face as his appointed doctor laughed heartily at the sound before he stood up and straightened his coat.

"I'll call a nurse to bring you something then." Doctor Kanou said with another smile. "I hope you enjoy our food, Harry-kun."

Somehow, those words felt ominous to him, but he only nodded at the doctor as he didn't know why he felt that way even though the man had been nothing but kind to him.

"Thank you, doctor."

After he ate and drank his medicine, he fell asleep before he could tell Sirius about the pervert who attacked him.

 

 

Harry was released from the hospital a mere week after he woke up, having healed quickly thanks to the potions Sirius bought from the nearest magical district several days ago. They leave the external wounds and didn't remove the cast though, not wanting to raise Doctor Kanou's suspicion too much as he were already puzzled by his quick recovery.

"Well, I would like it if you stay for another week at the very least, but if you and Mr. Black are sure about this…" Doctor Kanou frowned.

"Yes, we are very sure." Sirius nodded seriously at the doctor who only sighed in resignation. Sirius can be really persuasive and headstrong when wanted to be.

"Alright then, please sign this form here and you are free to go." The doctor handed over several pages of important looking documents to Sirius, who immediately signed it without even reading the content. "Please do take care, Harry-kun, and please rest up as much as possible for at least the next three weeks. Take it easy and don't do straining activities."

"I will. Thank you, Doctor." Harry nodded at the man, wincing a bit as Sirius helped him to a wheelchair. It was not painful at all, but mighty uncomfortable. He was glad that he was a wizard and not a muggle, therefore allowed to drink potions to speed up his healing.

They left after paying for the hospital bill with Sirius pushing the wheelchair that carried him a little too enthusiastically that he had to yell in fright twice to finally get him to do it properly.

Sirius had banished his casts some time after they left the hospital but before they reached the hotel so that he didn't have to keep up appearance there. He still had to be pushed in the wheelchair for a while though, as his bones were still feeling a bit weak after being mended by the Skele-Gro.

 

That time, he didn't notice if there were anything wrong with his body.

 

Once he was able to walk on his own somehow, Sirius offered to take him to Anteiku for a drink. Having missed both the café and the worker, Harry quickly agreed.

There were not a lot of customers inside Anteiku, only a pair of old men chatting animatedly and a young, handsome man with dyed blond hair and a refined air around him. As they stepped inside the well lit café, Koma-san who were trying to placate a pair of angry looking purple-haired teenagers looked up at him and positively beamed in relieve. Maybe he was happy to have a distraction from the arguing pair.

"Harry-kun!" the man greeted, promptly ignoring the angry teenagers who continued to bicker with themselves. "I thought you went back to your country already. But… what happened to your head?"

"Koma-san." Harry greeted him sheepishly as the chubby man led them to Harry's favorite table near the window, where they took their seat and made themselves comfortable. "Um, I got into an accident on the way home that day. Sorry. Even though you've warned me to be careful."

"An accident?" the waiter asked in concern.

"He got hit by a car crossing the street, this careless boy." Sirius elaborated, flicking Harry's nose with his finger as he accepted the menu from the waiter's hand, eliciting a yelp from the boy's lips.

"You were hit by a car?" Koma-san exclaimed. "That's terrible. But you're alright?"

"Yes. I got away with only a few scratches and a concussion. Thanks for worrying about me." Harry lied with a smile as he rubbed his still stinging nose and glared at his godfather.

"That's good, then. I—" the waiter's words were cut as a boy, one of the purple haired teenagers from before, storm out of the café, followed by the other's shout as she followed him out: "Ayato! Come back here, I'm not finished with you yet!"

The sounds of their arguing faded out as they disappeared. Harry and his godfather watched the scene with a wince as the chubby waiter sighed.

"Sorry about them. They're wards of the manager and… well… violent." He grimaced. "Well, forget about them! How can I serve you today? How about to celebrate your recovery we'll give you a cake of your choice for free?"

"No, that wasn't necessary, Koma-san, really." Harry felt his cheeks burn a bit as he said this, part happy that the chubby waiter wanted to celebrate his recovery yet also embarrassed by the attention he was getting from the man. They didn't know each other that long after all, and yet the man was already treating him like an old friend.

"Please, Harry-kun. I insist." He received a playful grin from the chubby man and he looked down at the menu to cover his smile.

"Thank you… if you're sure then I'd like black coffee and one strawberry shortcake, please."

Koma gave a satisfied grin as he jotted down his orders. "There you go! And what would you like today, Sirius-san?"

Sirius smiled seeing their interaction. "One cappuccino for me please, Koma-kun, and a slice of your strawberry shortcake as well."

"I'll be back with your orders soon then." The man bowed slightly before he disappeared to prepare their orders. When he couldn't see the man's back anymore, Harry turned towards Sirius with a small pout on his lips as he rubbed his nose again.

"That was mean, Siri. If it wasn't for that pervert chasing me, I would never be hit by a car you know."

There was a small silence while Sirius processed his words.

"Pervert?" Sirius blinked as his brain finally registered them. He leaned towards his godson while resting his arms on the table. "Wait. Harry did you just say that a pervert was chasing you?"

Harry blinked in confusion. "I haven't told you yet?"

Sirius sputtered. "This is the first time I heard of this!"

"Oh… I thought you already knew. Sorry. It seems I forgot to tell you." He ducked his head awkwardly. "But yeah, I was walking back to our hotel when this man—blond, tall, wearing fox mask that covered his upper face—pulled me to an alley and… licked my neck. I panicked and managed to push him off, but he chased me all the way to that street where the car hit me."

They heard someone choking on their drink before coughing up a storm a couple of tables from theirs and a startled chortle from somewhere at the back of the cafe, but Sirius was too preoccupied with his rage to be curious about them while Harry was still looking down guiltily.

"Did you tell the policemen this when they were questioning you?" Sirius looked near apoplectic when he said this, gritting his teeth with murder etched clearly in his eyes. Harry didn't know if he should feel happy that Sirius cared for him that much or scared that the man would really hunt the man and land himself in prison… again.

"Yeah I did. That's why I thought I already told you, but I forgot you were still resting at the hotel when they came." He paused and looked up at the man. "Are you angry at me?"

"Goodness  _no_! No I'm not! I just… wish that you'd tell me about things like this sooner." Sirius said, his anger quickly cooling down at the look in his godson's eyes. "I worry about you, Harry."

"I know. I'm sorry." He looked down and wrung his fingers together.

"Enough of that please. I don't like seeing you like that." Sirius sighed and rubbed his forehead as he leaned back on his seat, "Just… be more careful from now on, please. You're going to make my hair prematurely grey if you keep this up."

Harry had to smile a bit at that. "I will."

Koma chose that moment to walk to their table, balancing their orders on a small round tray.

"Sorry for the wait! Here's your orders, hope you enjoyed them." The man said with his usual prideful grin, although there was something on his face that's not quite like usual. Harry still can't pinpoint what that was, though.

"Thank you, Koma-san." Harry said politely, before he squinted his eyes to study the man's face. Something is a bit strange from the man. "Um, Koma-san, why are your face red?"

The waiter made a mix of choked and strangled sound with the back of his throat at his question.

"I-it's nothing." Koma coughed into a hand and waved off his question with the other. He looked like he was trying to suppress a grin and a scowl from his face at the same time, which made a very strange expression. "Well, if there's nothing else I could help you with, then please excuse me."

"Yes. Thank you, Koma-kun." Sirius said before the waiter go. He took a sip from his cappuccino and sighed in contentment. "The coffee here really is the best."

"It is." Harry nodded in agreement, sipping his own drink slowly to savor its taste. "By the way, Sirius, there's something that I want to ask you…"

They spent a few hours at the quaint café, just talking and exchanging stories and jokes like they always do when they were there. It was really nice, Harry thought. He was really glad to be out of the hospital's depressing air.

They walked back to their hotel afterwards, with Sirius walking really closely to him. It was 'so that he could protect him should something happen again', he said. As if something like that was going to happen twice in a row, Harry secretly thought even though he was touched by the gesture.

"Hey Sirius, what would you think if I said I want to be homeschooled?" Harry asked as a car passed by them, its sharp roaring sound masking his faint voice almost completely.

"Hm? What was that?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, before he finally smiled and shook his head. "No, it's nothing."

Sirius smiled and ruffled his hair. "Weird kid."

"Hey!" He protested, but the smile that was still in his lips indicated that he was not at all offended by his godfather's teasing. The atmosphere between them was that of relaxation and serenity, that was why they were completely unprepared when Sirius was thrown to the wall of a nearby building by a swift kick to the side of his stomach.

"Sirius!" Seeing Sirius's unmoving form lying on the ground, Harry paled and ran towards him, but a hand caught his and he was whirled around and pulled onto someone's chest before he could reach the unconscious man.

"What—" When he saw the one who had pulled him, he saw the blond man from the café holding him with a glare. He tried to push the man away, but the man seized his hands and pushed him until his back met with a wall.

"You—I can't believe you called me a pervert!" The man sputtered; face red with disbelieved indignation and embarrassment. "Like I'll be attracted to a short, bespectacled, messy haired  _little boy_  like you. Just because you smell a little good,  _you_ —"

The blond took a deep breath to calm himself while a bewildered Harry mulled over the man's words trying to understand what he meant when suddenly a large red scaled tail burst out from his lower back.

"What—"

Harry's blood run cold as his mind recalled some information from last year's impromptu discussion with Hermione at the sight of the red tail. Information of a creature long forgotten by the magical world; of a man-eating creature with claws as hard as diamonds, tough skin, limbs that could move faster than a speeding car, high recovery rate, and possessed a deadly weapon inside their body: a  _ghoul_.

"You're the person from that night—" Harry paled as he stared right at the blond's now black and red eyes. His fingers automatically reached towards his pocket where he kept his wand, but he wasn't sure if he could draw it fast enough before the man killed him.

"Yes I am, and I was about to eat you quickly and painlessly, but since you've embarrassed and pissed me off, what do you think I should do? Should I just eat you straight away like what I originally planned?" The man gave him a mockery of a smile and tilted his head. "Or do you prefer to watch me eat Sleeping Beauty there first before I eat you?"

No matter how scared Harry was, hearing those words caused anger to surge throughout his body, blinding all his sense of self-preservation as he readied himself for battle. No one threatened the people he treasured like that in his presence and got away with it. To hell with underage magic restriction, he's going to curse this man to oblivion.

"Like hell I'll let you lay your hands on him!"

Adrenaline rushed through his bloodstream, and before he realized what had happened, his body was engulfed by darkness.

**Next Chapter: Metamorphosis**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this story is taken from Kenshi Yonezu’s song of the same name. If you have some free time, please go search the song on youtube, think of Kaneki and his relationship(s) with Touka and/or Hide as you listen to it, and cry with me.


	2. Metamorphosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you so much for the kudos/alerts/comments/reviews! I honestly didn’t expect people to like this story this much. Thank you again!
> 
> I feel like I’ve read some of the things I used as reference somewhere in the manga but I don’t want to break my heart again checking it to make sure if I didn’t just made up the facts, so… for the sake of this story, let’s just pretend that ghouls appear out of nowhere, shall we?
> 
>  **I’ve changed several things in chapter one** , so if you’re a returning reader **it may be best if you re-read the latter part of chapter one**. I’m also aware that everyone’s so out of character. I just write them the way I like it because I can’t be bothered to make them in character I’m so sorry hueheu /flees

**2\. Metamorphosis**

Harry had heard about ghouls before, though he had never seen one prior to this incident. Even before he went to study at Hogwarts, he had heard often about them as Dudley loved to scare him with the idea that Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would sell him to one as food if he dared to fight back when his cousin bullied him when they were younger.

But he had never thought of that he would encounter one before, so he had let his guard down. He was being arrogant, he realized, because he was a wizard he thought that magic would protect him from anything—even from these ghouls that was regarded mostly as myths in Britain’s magical world.

Because “there were wards that prevented ghouls from entering magical districts” — but he had forgotten that he was not in a magical area and the magic that protected those places will not protect him here.

He had only learned about ghouls properly last year and not even from the professors, but from Hermione, who had told them grimly on the train that her neighbor was eaten by one during the summer.

Ron didn’t even believe her at first. He grew up in the magical world and never even knew that ghouls are real and thought that they were only creature made up by his parents to scare him from playing too far from home, so she went to lecture both Ron and him everything there is to know about ghouls and their danger then, and that was how he found out that ghouls used to be a part of the magical world and were recognized as a magical species up until the middle of the 17th century.

Apparently they have an agreement with the magical people of back then, “to only prey on non-magical humans" in exchange for “protection and a place to belong”, but an organization of magic-hating ghouls, for reasons that was lost to history, schemed to take over the France magical district for themselves and attacked their ruling ministry one day.

After several days of intense battle, the incident finally ended with the ghouls’ defeat. The war, although brief and barely lasted three days, caused a vast number of deaths on the humans’ side and destruction that couldn’t be mended just by magic alone. Over two thousands wizards and witches died at the battle, causing the survivors to come to fear and hate the ghouls—even the innocent ones that didn’t have anything to do with the uprising—and barely a day after the bloody incident they commenced an operation to “purify” the magical world of ghouls.

The witches and wizards of that time then brutally hunted down every last ghoul that survived the battle and executed them, forcing the innocents who wanted to live to flee to the muggle world, and warded their district so the ghouls could never return to pay them for their betrayal as well as to prevent similar incident to ever happen again.

The other magical communities all over the world who had heard of the incident followed the example of their France counterpart and drove the ghouls out from their community out of fear that the same thing would happen to them, and that was how ghouls lost their place in the magical world, as well as how they seem to “suddenly” appear in the muggle world without any explanations or evidence that they existed prior to that time. Because they were previously protected and hidden by the magical community.

Hermione also told them of the organ that every ghoul possessed—the kagune. It was an organ made from their _blood_ * that would harden and come out of their skin when they willed it to. Hermione warned them to never take on a ghoul lightly because of this very organ. It was an organ that varied in every ghoul; an organ that was flexible like the flow of water, but firm and sturdy like steel; a deadly weapon that could pierce and slice through the human body like a hot knife through butter.

An organ that was apparently covering his entire body now.

And his head too, he thought with major bewilderment as he patted his head frantically, hearing the soft clinking sounds from where the dark appendage that coated his fingers were clashing with the one that covered his face.

“What—” Harry began, but was cut by the sound of a loud exasperated groan from the blond ghoul as he leaned back and slapped his own face.

“Wait, you’re a ghoul?! Why didn’t you just tell me in the first place? It’d save me the trouble and embarrassment, _man_!” the blond rubbed his face, sighing resignedly as he backed away from him and willed his tail away. It dissipated into the air with a sizzling sound and a trace of white smoke, leaving several red colored residues on the ground in its wake.

_He’s mistaking me for a ghoul._

His bloodlust vanished in an instant and suddenly the _thing_ that was covering his entire body dissipated into the air much like the older man’s tail just seconds ago. He watched anxiously as the blond ghoul glanced at the still unconscious form of Sirius on the other side of the road and made a gesture with his thumb.

“What about him? He’s our kind too?”

“I’m not _your_ —” Harry slapped a hand to his mouth before he could finish his sentence. Denying that he’s not a ghoul would be a stupid thing to do, he thought.

He still didn’t understand what was happening to him and it’s frustrating. He just wanted to take his godfather to safety and check him for injuries, and no matter how he looked at it the smartest way to get out of this mess safely was to play along with the older man’s misconception—even if he didn’t want to.  

Harry swallowed, hoping that his voice will betray the anxiety that was wrecking his body right now. He was not the best of liars, after all. “I mean— _no,_ he’s human.”

“Hmm, is that so? Does he know what you are?” The ghoul appraised him with a mix of interest and disgust—like he couldn’t fathom why he would be protective of a human.

He glared at the older man’s obvious disgust. “No, he doesn’t know.”

The older man put his hands up to show that he meant no harm. “Geez, no need to be so hostile. I’m warning you though, humans can’t be trusted. This guy too. He will betray you the moment he finds out what you are.”

Harry glowered at the blond. “He won’t. I trust him.”

Yet, despite saying that so confidently, an uncomfortable feeling somehow crept into a corner inside his heart. He knew Sirius loved him, but somehow a little part of his mind was worried that the man would view him as something lesser if he finds out about his… deformity.

Why was this happening to him, though? _What_ exactly was happening to him? He remembered that he was just a normal human that morning. He wasn’t even aware that a normal human can turn into another species entirely _just like that._ But then again, he wasn’t exactly someone you’d call normal, was he? Did his magic do this to him?

Harry felt a little sick.

While he was having a little mental discussion-slash-breakdown, the blond ghoul shrugged at his response, before he offered his hand at him. “Suits yourself. Come then, I’ll help you bring him back to the café. I doubt you could carry him there with those scrawny arms of yours.”

Harry tried to shove his less than pleasant thoughts aside to answer the ghoul, who was still waiting for him to take his hand. He didn’t take it though. He didn’t trust this man, no matter that he didn’t seem to have any intentions to harm him anymore.

“The café?” What does Anteiku have to do with this? “Why?”

The ghoul raised an eyebrow as if questioning his intelligence. “Um, so that Yoshimura-san and Koma-san could take a look at Sleeping Beauty’s injuries? They have the most experience in dealing with humans amongst us after all.”

What? Koma-san and the Manager are ghouls too? Those gentle people were ghouls… and he never noticed. There were human customers in the café too. Were they just pretending to open a café, but in actuality it was a trap to catch their prey with?

He was so upset that wanted to throw up.

“I don’t need your help.” He said harshly to the ghoul, swallowing the bile at the back of his throat and moved to lift his godfather’s body up. “I’ll take care of him by myself.”

As he expected, his godfather was heavy and his arms and legs were trembling supporting the weight of the man, but he just wanted to go back to their hotel, check Sirius’ condition, and sleep. He wanted to forget the last ten minutes ever happened.

Seeing his trembling limbs, the ghoul approached him and took hold of one of Sirius’ arm and placed it over his shoulders to help him support the weight.

“What—” He began, indignation coloring his tone of voice.

The ghoul raised an eyebrow again. “I said I’ll help you, didn’t I? You look like you were having trou—”

Harry glared at the man and interrupted him back, tugging at the arm that was on his own shoulder. “Well, _I_ said I don’t need your help, didn’t I?! So _stop_ bothering me and _go back_ to wherever it is you came from!”

The man glared right back at him, but he was still holding onto Sirius. “Why are you being so defensive? I’m just trying to help!”

He retorted, tugging at Sirius’s body with both his hands. “You’re the one who did this to him in the first place!”

“YesI _know_ , okay? That’s why let me make it up to you!” The ghoul huffed and readjusted his hold on Sirius’s side. “I don’t get why you get so upset all of the sudden, but you’re clearly not strong enough to carry him. I feel bad for mistaking you for a human and assaulting you like that already, so stop being so stubborn and just let me help you, alright?”

He eyed the ghoul hesitantly, actually feeling bad for the ghoul because of the miserable tone he used.

“Fine. I promise I won’t do anything harmful to you or Sleeping Beauty anymore.” The ghoul huffed again. “Is Your Highness satisfied with this condition?”

Not having the energy to argue anymore, Harry finally relented.

“Fine.”

“Great! I know you would give in eventually!” the blond grinned and readjusted Sirius’s position once again, before he began to drag his godfather’s body back towards the café, making him jump in anxiousness.

“Wait, no!” He grabbed the edge of the ghoul’s shirt, making him almost topple backward.

“Ow, goddamnit! Brat, do you want me to drop your Sleeping Beauty?!” the ghoul scowled, and he let go of the man’s shirt when he realized what he had done.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry. It’s just—” Harry bit his lower lip in hesitation. “I don’t want to go to the café right now. I’m tired. Please just help me bring him home.”

He really didn’t want to meet Koma-san or the Manager and have bad thoughts about them while he put on a smile like nothing happened. He can’t do it. They were _deceiving_ him _._

The blond ghoul raised an eyebrow at him for the third time that night. “You sure you want me to know the place you’re staying at?”

Oh damn. He forgot that he didn’t trust this guy.

“You promised that you wouldn’t harm us anymore.” He accused.

“I know. But are you sure you want to trust me?” The man tilted his head questioningly.

“Not really…” He replied bluntly.

“Wow. Thanks for the vote of confidence.” The blond faked a sneer, before he dropped his expression into a serious one. “I won’t hurt you anyway. It’s up to you if you to believe it or not. What about his injuries though? I know how to make them but treating them is out of my field, I’m afraid.”

“I can handle it by myself.”

With the help of Hermione, many healing books, and potions, he can do it. Probably.

“Sure. If you say so. Lead the way then, Your Highness.” The ghoul curtseyed as best as he could while supporting Sirius’ body. As they walked through the silent street, the ghoul suddenly let out a relieved breath. “But, whew! Imagine what Koma-san would do to me if you refused to let me help you after I created so much trouble and go against his direct order. Thank goodness you’re willing to cooperate with me.”

Despite having promised himself that he would ignore the blond, he couldn’t help but be curious. “Koma-san?”

“Uh-huh. He’s really fond of you, you know. Always talk about you with this silly grin I have never seen on his face before you showed up.” He scrunched up his face. “I got a bit jealous, I guess. He never makes that kind of expression for any of us.”

His heart skipped a bit and a guilty feeling settled in his heart. “Any of you?”

The blond nodded enthusiastically. “Yup! I’m a member of the gang he was leading you know! Though Koma-san disbanded it several years ago, I still consider myself his most loyal follower. He was a very strong and charismatic leader back then. Everyone looked up to him.” He grinned proudly. “He’s my idol.”

“That’s why I attacked you that night, actually. But you somehow managed to throw me off and got hit by that car.” The blond looked up the sky with a sheepish expression, clearly avoiding his sharp glare.

“When you appeared again today, only a week after the accident… I know I should have been suspicious at the very least. No human could heal that fast, after all. But not only you caused Koma-san to laugh at me because you mistook me for a pervert, he also scolded me very harshly because I attacked you and ordered me to never go after you anymore.”

He looked down in shame. Koma-san really cared about him, yet he repaid his kind thoughts with suspicion based on his species. It wasn’t like he could help what he was born as.

“You were touching my neck with your tongue. What am I supposed to think? I never expected that a gho— _another_ ghoul would try to eat me.” Harry stuttered finally, trying to shake off the guilty feeling from his heart.

“W-well! It’s not my fault that you smell like humans! How should I know that you’re not one yourself?” The blond blushed, realizing that his argument were really weak and coughed to hide his awkwardness. “T-the point is, I hate humans. They cannot be trusted and very prone to betrayal. That’s why I got really angry that I got scolded by my idol for a mere human and decided to go against his order, but you turned out to be a ghoul too! Man, how embarrassing.”

 _Your very existence is embarrassing._ Harry thought. The blond was really shameless, after attacking him twice and even harming his godfather, he dared talking to him like he was an old friend without even apologizing first, only offered him a half-assed explanation on why he did it and expecting him to sympathize with his circumstances.

“Don’t worry, though, I don’t eat ghouls. I’ve heard rumors that eating ghoul meats could cause mutation and make you mentally deranged or something. I love myself too much to risk something like that happening to me, whether the rumor’s true or not.” The ghoul added unnecessarily. Harry didn’t understand how he could ever think of the ghoul as refined when he first saw him at Anteiku.

“Sirius’ not a ghoul though.” He commented suspiciously.

“I don’t eat people precious to one of ours. That would only create unnecessary problem for me in the future and I’m not stupid enough to do it.” The ghoul glared, obviously feeling indignant that he would accuse him of doing something so stupid.

This time it was him who raised an eyebrow and retorted snidely. “You have no qualms with getting into trouble with me though.”

“ _That_ was because I thought you were a human. I don’t seek trouble from ghouls that could attack me back.” The ghoul huffed, shamelessly admitting that he was a coward. “What’s your name anyway? I’m Touno Shouji. You may call me Shouji-san.”

He looked at the blond, whose name had been revealed as Shouji, with an unimpressed stare that illustrated his opinion on the man right now, which was: not just shameless, he’s an idiot too.

Not getting any response, the ghoul finally sputtered.

“Oh _come on_ , it was a joke! If you don’t make a proper comeback I’ll be embarrassed!” Shouji blushed brightly as he blurted out his words, and despite his tiredness and everything that happened that night, he surprised himself by laughing earnestly at the older man’s reaction.

He finally noticed the man’s stare after awhile, and he scowled back defensively.

“What is it?”

“Nothing.” The blond shook his head frantically and looked at the ground, avoiding his stare once again. “I just didn’t know you are capable of laughter.”

Just what did this bastard think he was? He wanted to be mad at him, but he was out of energy already so he decided to just ignore him for the rest of their short journey. That was before the blond finally decided to finally look at him once again though.

“Listen, um… I’m really sorry okay. For everything. I know I’m a jealous person and easily riled up, but I shouldn’t have assaulted you like that.” He said. “Will you forgive me?”

 _Finally, an apology,_ Harry thought, but he decided to withhold his response for a while to find out his true intention. “Are you afraid Koma-san will hate you if I didn’t forgive you?”

Shouji made a choked sound. Ah, must have hit the bull’s-eye.

No matter though. He didn’t like holding grudge for a long time—even though he was still so tired and upset and also confused by that night’s events—and Shouji was making it hard for him to stay mad at him, so he finally said: “Sure, I’ll forget this ever happened,” in a totally devoid of emotion kind of manner, and received a relieved grin from the other.

“Yes! Thank you so much, um… Your Highness!” Shouji thought momentarily before he settled on his previous nickname with a bright grin.

 “ _Please_ just call me Harry.”

 

 

But that was the event that occurred three hours ago. Shouji had left after he laid Harry’s godfather on his bed, but not until he extracted another promise from him to not tattle to Koma-san because he was scared that he would receive a punishment this time instead of scolding.

After Shouji left, he had grabbed whatever healing books he could get his hands on and a phone to call Hermione. Thankfully Japan was eight hours ahead of their home country so hopefully he wouldn’t be too much of a bother to her. He definitely would feel bad if he were to disturb her sleep or something.

Hermione was being her typical self and got really worried, and after she failed to convince him to just take Sirius to a hospital, she instructed him as best as she could and referenced him to the books that would give him the information on the spells that he needed to carry out. He used Sirius wand to perform a diagnosis spell then, and the information it revealed to him put his concerned heart at ease.

It seemed like Sirius just suffered heavy bruising at his ribs area and the reason he passed out was because he hit his head on the wall, so he just spread some healing salve on the bruises and leave the bump on his head alone before he thanked Hermione for her help and let her end the call first.

Now he was sitting at his bedside, feeling upset and confused as he stared at his hands as everything that happened that night finally caught up to him again. Trembling with confusion and anxiousness, he covered his face with his palms tiredly and wondered out loud.

“Just… just what the hell am I?”

He fell into a fitful sleep soon after that, haunted by a terrible dream of being hunted by humans in white coats wielding pitchfork, being led by his furious godfather.

When the sun rose the morning after, Sirius woke up not remembering what happened to him so Harry blearily gave him the explanation he had prepared the night before, hoping that his godfather didn’t suspect his lie. Thankfully, his godfather was really gullible. Or maybe just dim, he was not sure which.

“I can’t believe that I slipped on a banana skin and hit my head on the street so hard that I passed out—” Sirius exclaimed with a horrified expression before he slapped his face, his red face told him that he was thoroughly embarrassed by his own lameness. “If James was still alive he will probably met his end laughing at my predicament right now, I know it.”

He could only laugh weakly in response to hide his nervousness.

Truthfully, his body was exhausted and his mind was troubled. The dream he had, and also Shouji’s words the night before made him doubt his previously absolute trust in his godfather. Sure, the man didn’t care that one of his best friends was a werewolf, but werewolves didn’t eat people—unlike what he had (possibly) become.

He mustn’t let Sirius know about it.

For days after that, he had not been able to sleep properly and refused to eat for fear of discovering his possible inability to consume human food anymore and just drunk water and coffee after he discovered that ghouls could consume them. The coffee helped reduce his sleepiness and exhaustion, but he still felt jumpy and on edge all the time, afraid that somehow he would give his godfather the impression that he was not a human anymore.

He acted like everything was fine in front of Sirius and was glad that he didn’t notice what was going on, but secretly, a tiny bit of him resented the man for it also. Deep down, he knew that Sirius was not to blame for anything, but anxiousness, exhaustion, and hunger made him irritable. The man also didn’t help him by being so _fucking_ cheerful all the time when he was in this condition.

Immediately, he felt guilty for thinking like that about the man who had offered him a home even when he was still practically a stranger. He put a hand on his stomach, wishing it to stop hurting as he mentally apologized to his godfather.

Even though the state of his mind was in chaos, the weather outside was really lovely. The sky was bright blue with only little specs of clouds. It was the perfect weather to play around outside all day, so after they (Sirius) had breakfast, Sirius told him that their destination for the day was the Tokyo Disneyland.

If he was in his best condition, Harry actually would be really excited as he had never gone to an amusement park before, but he was not so he could only cheered half-heartedly just to satisfy his godfather. Sirius told him that it would be really fun, before he laughed and told him his hilarious experiences when he went to one before with Remus, Pettigrew, and his parents before they got married.

Listening to Sirius’ stories always calmed his nerves, and he mindlessly followed the older man’s steps as they traveled on foot to the train station like they always do ever since they arrived in the country.

That was until he realized where Sirius was leading him to.

“Sirius, why are we here?” He said, staring with trepidation at the entrance to the Himiko _Kōri_ , the biggest magical shopping district of Japan. The long row of vermillion Myōjin-styled _torii_ stood imposingly at the end of the narrow alley they were currently standing in front of, guarding the magical area from both ghouls and muggles alike.

“Mm? To get money of course! Can’t enter the Mouse Land without tickets, which is bought with money.” Sirius said cheerfully, already starting to walk towards the gates.

Harry closed his eyes, panicking internally. How should he get out of this one safely? Should he try to tell him directly that he didn’t want to try his luck to see if he could pass through the barrier that protected the district? Should he fake sickness? But he didn’t want to worry Sirius.

Noticing that he wasn’t following, Sirius looked back in confusion.

“Harry? What’s the matter?”

Harry bit his lip, contemplating his answer. “Can I just… you know, wait here?”

Sirius looked surprised. “What? Why? You were so excited the last time we went to the bank. Their cart was way better than the one back home, right? Come on!”

Harry smiled a little at that, but he still didn’t want to go. He can’t.

“I know. I just don’t feel like going. Please?”

Sirius looked concerned now and walked back towards where he was standing still in front of the alley. “Are you sick after all? You’ve been acting really weird since this morning, you even refused breakfast. Should we just head back?”

“No, I’m—I’m fine. I just don’t want to go there.” Harry said in a calm manner, despite his thundering heartbeats. In his mind, he cursed Sirius for acting so concerned _now_ of all times when he didn’t look like he cared before. His hands shook in nervousness as he prayed to whatever gods was watching for Sirius to drop the topic and just go by himself.

“Harry?” Sirius asked hesitantly. “Why is your right eye like that?”

He tensed and from the corner of his eyes he caught his reflections on the glass window of the building that flanked the alley, and saw the red in his eye. His blood ran cold. How could he forget about the kakugan? Immediately his hand flew to cover his eye and he almost hyperventilated in his panic.  

Unfortunately for him, his body mistook the panic he was experiencing and his desire to run away as a sign that he was being threatened, and in a flash of pain that originated from his upper back, he was enveloped with a familiar darkness.

_No! Not now, why do you have to show yourself now?!_

“No, this is—!”

His whole body froze with fear, and his jaw shook as he tried to find the right words to explain it to his godfather—before he caught a flash of shock and fear from Sirius’ eyes and felt something inside of him snap.

Before he knew could stop what was happening, he was already dumping his emotions and thoughts at his still shocked godfather.

“Do you get it now? These _things_ are the reasons I didn’t want to enter the district. The reason I haven’t been able to sleep properly for the past week. The reason I didn’t want to eat anything. Do you fear me now that I’ve become a ghoul? My body changed so suddenly and I was—what if I discovered that I cannot go through the barrier? Or eat human food anymore? What if I could only eat human meat from now on?” He yelled, looking at the ground and not noticing the way his godfather’s face twisted in pain.

“I… I was feeling so frightened and anxious for _days_ , and you didn’t even notice and acted like nothing was wrong in this world! You’re so insensitive! What kind of a godfather are you—oh…!” He burst out, before he realized what he just said with a horrified expression. “No, Sirius, I… I didn’t mean… I’m so sorry—”

He uncertainly looked up as he apologized and saw Sirius’ eyes hardened in fury.

_This is it._

At that moment, he knew that it was over. He felt only numbness, yet his hands shook so much. The world in front of him gradually looked blurrier and he looked back down to the ground, trying to hide his godfather from seeing him in the verge of tears as his kagune dissipated again into the air.

 _He hates me_ , he thought. _Or was he disgusted with me? Maybe it was a mixture of both._

He closed his eyes, waiting for Sirius to start spitting insults or throwing spells at him, but instead of pain, he felt a hand grabbing his wrist. His eyes snapped open, and he saw Sirius’ furious eyes before suddenly he was being drugged towards the _torii._ He struggled, fear etched so desperately in his expression.

“No, Sirius!” He tried to pull away, but Sirius wouldn’t let him. The row of vermillion gate got closer with each dragged steps, and he grew more desperate in his struggle as the fear clawed deeper inside his heart. “Please no, I don’t _want_ to!”

Only one step from the gate, and he closed his eyes as tears started to fell down his cheeks.

“ _I’m scared_!”

And with one final tug, Sirius pulled him inside the barrier.

Feeling no pain, he opened his eyes in shock. His breath labored, his limbs trembled, and his cheeks wet with tears as he realized that he had passed past the protections. He fell to his knees, strength leaving his body as a hopeful feeling filled him. That could only mean one thing, right? He was not a fool for hoping, right?

He was still a human, right?

“See, you were human. You’ve always been and you’ll always be. I don’t know was happening to you, but I don’t care if you have an extra organ in your body, or even if you decides that you’d rather eat human meat rather than cakes—nothing will stop me from caring about you.” Sirius said with a serious expression he had never seen before on his godfather’s face, and he couldn’t do anything but try to suppress his trembling body as a choked sob escaped his lips.

“I was really mad, yeah. I was mad at myself for letting you go through this by yourself. I was mad at myself for not noticing that you’ve been keeping this to yourself and have been suffering alone. And I was afraid, yeah, but for your safety, not of what you’ve become. This is no place to speak about such things, after all.” Sirius said grimly.

He felt Sirius’ arms embraced his shoulders tightly, and a hand shoved his face onto the older man’s chest. “But there’s no way I’ll ever fear what you’ve become or abandon you, Harry. Not just because you’re James’ son, but because I see you as my own, um, little brother. Yeah, little brother. I’m not ready to have a son yet, I’m afraid.”

He let out a surprised, teary laugh. “The last part totally ruins it, Siri.”

“Yes, but it made you laugh. Come on, wipe your tears! Crying face didn’t suit you at all.” Sirius flicked his nose and he smiled kindly. “I know I’m not the best of godfathers—I’m not a dependable person; I can’t give you advice on life like a proper adult or do fatherly things for you, but I do love you and I will listen to your thoughts and insecurities if you need someone to talk to, you know? I’ll support you with everything I’ve got, that’s why you don’t have to be afraid anymore. Understand?”

“Y-yeah…” He wiped his tears and nodded his head, a heartfelt smile on his face. “Yeah… thank you so much, Sirius. And I’m sorry. For everything.”

“No problem, kid! Now let’s go! The Mouse Land can wait, but we must feed you before you get any more skinny and collapse from the hunger. You’re thin enough as it is.” Sirius smiled teasingly, and he laughed back.

“But I don’t want to get fat like you, Siri.”

Sirius gasped. “So rude!”

Sirius pulled him up, and put an arm around him. Feeling the warmth and safety it provided, he smiled again. As he thought, he was an idiot for doubting Sirius’ love.

**Next Chapter: Affection**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*The wizards are stupid and don’t know that kagune are actually made from RC cells._  
> 
> I bet you didn’t expect that to happen. You must have thought Harry and the blond ghoul would have an epic battle where Harry discovered his powers as a half ghoul and then decided to use that power in order to save lives and change people for the better am I right?? But no he’s kind of a wimp in here I’m so sorry.
> 
> On another note I actually never intended for Shouji to become an actual character for this story orz. I didn’t even plan to give him a name at all but he seems to have inserted himself into the plot without my consent and I can’t get rid of him. He’ll probably be the only OC though, don’t worry.
> 
> By the way, the Japanese sometimes (or all the time, I don’t know) call Disneyland ‘Mouse Land’. Sirius just copied this to ‘blend with the locals’. Also, _kōri_ is a term used to call district a long time ago in Japan. It is now called _gun_ though. Himiko is the name of the woman who united and ruled Yamataikoku during Japan’s Yayoi Jidai. People of back then believed that she could communicate with the gods. _Torii_ is the gate, usually vermillion in color or unpainted, that you’d often see in front of a Shinto shrine.
> 
> And here’s a little Japanese lesson!
> 
> Shouji is written in Japanese with these characters ｢倡嗣｣. The on-yomi for ｢倡｣ is ‘shou’. It has the meaning of ‘lead’ or ‘initiate’, while the on-yomi for ｢嗣｣ is ‘shi’ and means ‘heir’ or ‘successor’. When the two kanji are put together, ｢嗣｣ is read as ‘ji’. His family name Touno is written with the characters ｢灯野｣. The kun-yomi for ｢灯｣is ‘tou’ and has the meaning of ‘light’ and the kun-yomi for ｢野｣ is ‘no’ and has the meaning of ‘field’. Just like my username, I shamelessly stole his name from the characters in Sugiura Shiho’s Silver Diamond. Eheh ;p
> 
> Update: Just to clarify, Harry didn't know that the cause of his change was because of the surgery. That's why he thought the change was sudden because one moment he was just eating with Sirius and the next he had turned into a 'ghoul'.


	3. Affection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a filler chapter? But it’s kind of necessary too. This was originally a 14.000 words chapter, but I felt that it was too long so I split it into two chapters. Kaneki was actually supposed to appear at the end of this chapter, but since I split this in two, well… I promise that he will definitely appear next chapter though. 
> 
> Anyway if you’re wondering why Yoshimura-san hasn’t appeared yet before now, that’s because I can’t write him.
> 
> I can’t believe D. Gray-Man is back.

True to his promise, Sirius brought him to a restaurant famous for its meat oriented menus to fatten him up and casted several spells to ensure their privacy to protect him should he found that he couldn’t eat normally anymore. Upon finding that he still could feed on the grilled cattle meat Sirius ordered for them, Harry felt very stupid for torturing himself that long when he could just muster up his bravery and found out on his own. Godric Gryffindor must have been so ashamed that a member of his House could be so uncourageous.

Sirius had laughed heartily when he told his godfather this, saying that he definitely got that from his father. Apparently, his father was also quick to panic and jump into the wrong conclusion. There was a time when he cried because he thought his mother was dying before it was discovered that she was only suffering the symptoms of a pregnancy.

“When did you first notice your condition though?” Sirius asked as he flipped a slice of meat on the grill. The aroma it gave off would have turned Harry into a drooling mess if he wasn’t already stuffing his face with his own share of the delicious feast.

“It was the night you were attacked. I was preparing myself for battle when the kagune suddenly sprouted from my back on its own.” Harry said as he chewed on his own meal.

“Attacked?” Sirius frowned. “I don’t remember I was ever attacked?”

Damn. He slipped.

“Well…” Harry looked upwards, then at the floor, then at the waiter that was also looking at him funnily because he was acting weird. He looked everywhere but at his godfather. Seeing his suspicious behavior, Sirius smiled so sweetly that it sent shivers down Harry’s spine.

“Why don’t you tell me everything right from the start, Harry?”

Under the force of his godfather’s scarily sweet smile, Harry finally caved in and told him everything. He told Sirius about how the pervert that attacked him wasn’t really a pervert, about Koma-san and the manager being a ghoul, about the reason why the ghoul they thought was a pervert attacked him in the first place, and about the real reason behind the bump in Sirius’ head.

After he finished telling the tale, Sirius groaned. “So it wasn’t because I tripped on a banana skin? Harry, I was agonizing over that forever, you know! So mean!”

That’s what he worries about the most? Sirius definitely should learn how to prioritize things in order of importance. But, despite the tenseness he felt when he was telling Sirius the events of that night, Harry laughed, a light feeling settling in his heart as he finally unloaded the burdened thoughts he had been keeping to himself for days.

“Well, it was the best lie I could came up with at that time…” He smiled, his eyes crinkling in amusement as his father sputtered in indignation.

“But…” Sirius began, trying to reason before he gave up on his own and sighed. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. What’s important now is that we need to find out as much as possible about your condition. What do you know so far, Harry?”

“Well…” Harry swallowed the rice he had finished chewing. “I just know that only one of my eyes turned into kakugan, and that I can’t really control the kagune. But I remember that both times it came out my heart was beating really fast, however for different reasons.”

“Hmm…” Sirius hummed as he chewed. “So, it was triggered by adrenaline?”

“Maybe.” Harry agreed. “I remember Hermione telling me that normal ghouls could bring their kagune out at will though.”

“Hmm. This is tough. We need to know find out more about ghouls before we proceed.” Sirius nodded thoughtfully. They fell into a comfortable silence as he continued to stuff his face with food and Sirius got lost in his own thoughts. When Harry finally finished with his meal, Sirius finally opened his mouth again.

“You know, I don’t think you should go back to Hogwarts this year, Harry.” Sirius said.

“Huh?” He blinked in confusion.

“It might be dangerous for you to go there after all. I mean, you said you couldn’t control your kagune right? What if you feel threatened there, or if you were feeling really excited for a match and it decided to show itself?” Sirius elaborated. “I know your friends will accept you as you are, but the others who didn’t know you that well might not be as supportive.”

Harry felt a little overwhelmed all of the sudden, imagining what would happen if what Sirius said really does happened. First of all, Rita Skeeter would have a field day, then the masses will be scared of him, and then it’s the end for him.

“You’re… you’re right. I didn’t think of that.” Harry lapsed into silence and looked at his empty rice bowl. “What do you think I should do then?”

Hearing his question, Sirius smiled and leaned forward on the table surface until his face was directly in front of his. “What do _you_ want to do, Harry?”

Harry jolted in surprise and panicked a little, not knowing how to answer his godfather. “W-why are you asking me that so suddenly? I don’t… ”

What did he supposed to say? He had never been allowed to make an important decision by himself, especially if it concerned his life.

“We’re talking about your life here, Harry. Your future. I think it’s only right that you should have a say in what you wanted to do with your life.”

Suddenly, he remembered the people he met here. Koma-san, and the manager. Despite being ghouls and obviously having flaws, they were kind and definitely not some brainless or heartless monsters like what the muggle media portrayed them to be. Shouji too; he definitely had some issues, but he was not a mindless killer. Harry thought that if it’s them, maybe he could trust them with his secrets. Maybe they could help him.

With a new determination in his heart, Harry stared back at his godfather confidently.

“I want to try staying here.”

Seeing the resolve in his godson’s eyes, Sirius grinned with a nod.

“We’ll have to search for a good school for you then.” He said. “Ah, but it’s almost the second term here, right? You’ll have a lot to catch up to then. Better start studying from now on.”

Harry looked stunned at his words. “You’ll… allow it?”

“Of course! Why do you think I asked you what do you want to do if I didn’t plan to allow you to do it? Harry, despite what you believe, your opinion matters you know. And if it didn’t work out for you, we can find another place to start again. But at least here in the muggle side of the world I can protect you better if you got found out. Your face is not well-known here, after all.” Sirius said, nodding sagely.

Seeing his godson’s face stilling in surprise like that, Sirius pinched his cheeks hard until it reddened, ignoring his pained protests. When the man finally let go, he glared at him and rubbed his cheeks with the palm of his hand. Yet, even as he sent a glare at the grinning man, the inside his chest was filled with a warm feeling.

“Thank you.” He said softly, and he received a hand ruffling his hair in return.

 

 

It was several days later that Harry finally managed to found the time to visit Anteiku again. After the talk they have the other day, Sirius and he went apartment and school hunting. Sirius got the apartment almost immediately, as he had a lot of money the real estate agents was eager to help him speed things up.

As Sirius won’t be living with him in Japan because he had business to tend to in their home country Harry, had wanted to rent a one room mansion, but then Sirius will have nowhere to sleep when he visited so they ended up in a modest 3LDK apartment instead.

The word “modest” here is by Sirius standard so in actuality it’s not as modest as it sounded, but as the design of the rooms was clean and simple Harry was able to accept it without too much fuss. Rather, it was the school hunting that took much of their times. Sirius wanted to give him the best education as possible, so he was being more finicky than usual.

His godfather finally found the school that met his standard after three days of searching. It was a highly respectable school with quite a reputation that was located in the nineteenth district, only a train car away from his new home.

As he was already fourteen and going to fifteen in a few days, Sirius had wanted to enroll him as a third year, but with the national exams only more or less six months from then Harry depressingly said that he wouldn’t be able to catch up academically. And so, they finally decided to enroll him as a second year.

The headmaster was also being very eager and helpful after seeing how much money Sirius was willing to put into his education, but unfortunately there were an obstacle Harry didn’t predict before he would have to pass before.

 _The entrance exam_.

And the headmaster told him that he had only 2 weeks to prepare himself.

It was positively the most distressing news he’d heard as of late.

After everything that happened that day, Sirius claimed that he was too tired to function already and went back to their new apartment to sleep, but he couldn’t afford that luxury because unfortunately he had to _study_.

And so, after he bought some very difficult looking books that he couldn’t believe were designed for junior high school students, he went to Anteiku for some drink to soothe his tired soul… only to pause in front of the café’s door as an uncomfortable feeling settled in his chest.

Was it right for him to just stride in like nothing happened after he had thought badly of Koma-san and the manager after knowing that they were ghouls despite having received only kindness from them? And he can’t just apologize to them to get rid of the guilty feeling since that would inform them that he’s not a ghoul too. But what if Anteiku really _was_ a trap for wandering humans?

No, no. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t judge them based on what they are. He shook his head to dispel the haunting thoughts. Finally mustering up the courage that made him a member of the House of Lion, Harry twisted the doorknob and opened it. It was a beautiful woman with long black hair that he had never seen before that greeted him the moment he stepped inside the quaint little shop.

She was wearing the shop’s uniform and was wiping a table before he came in and alerted her to his presence, so she must be a staff of the shop. Looking up as she noticed him, she sent him a delicate looking smile and greeted him warmly.

“Welcome to Anteiku. A table for one?”

“Y-yes, please.” Harry stuttered slightly, a bit overwhelmed by her beauty. Was this beautiful lady a ghoul too?

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Koma-san and Shouji talking in a corner of the shop—though it looked more like Koma-san was berating the blond about something. The sight was oddly reminding him of when Mrs. Weasley was lecturing Ron or his brothers when they were caught doing something that displeased her. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t notice him coming.

Did the blond get found out? Was Koma-san really going to hurt him for disobeying order? Questions swirled inside Harry’s head as he looked around and noticed that there were no other customers save two kind-looking men who were watching Koma-san berate the blond ghoul with amusement. Those men must be ghouls too then, if they knew Koma-san and Shouji.

The woman smiled when she noticed what stole his attention.

“Don’t worry about it, Harry-kun. Enji-san won’t hurt him as long as he has confirmed your safety.” She said with a light giggle. Harry secretly always thought that when girls giggle they sounded a little irritating—especially if they’re giggling over celebrities or the likes—but somehow she managed to make her giggle sounded elegant. Distracted by her beauty once again, he didn’t notice that the woman just used his name when he just met her a few minutes ago.

“Wait… Huh? How do you know my name?” He frowned in confusion when he finally realized it, making the woman once again chuckle daintily and looked at him with warmth in her dark eyes.

“You are pretty well-known in here, you know. Enji-san was really attached to you, after all. And since he’s famous people are bound to notice you as well.” She told him, amusement reflected in her kind eyes. “I’ve always wondered about the reason, but now that I’ve seen you I understand why. It’s very sweet how the fearsome Devil Ape turned into a doting old man in front of you.”

“Huh?” This again. Why was Koma-san fond of him?

She smiled and pushed his back lightly to guide him to his usual spot. He protested halfheartedly, but his protest was drowned by her voice as she sang loudly, though somehow making it so that she didn’t sound like she was yelling: “Enji-san, your favorite customer is here!”

Koma-san whipped his head at her voice and exclaimed his name in surprise. “Harry-kun?”

Feeling very awkward, Harry gave a little wave. “Y-yeah. Hello, Koma-san.”

The chubby waiter grabbed Shouji’s wrist and dragged him to his table before he put a hand on the back of the blond’s head and pushed him into a very deep bow. Wow. Harry had thought that they only do the 45 degree bow on television dramas, but apparently not.

“I apologize for this idiot’s rude actions, Harry-kun. I hope that you can find it in you to forgive me for failing to teach him manners.” Koma-san said, also lowering his head. Shouji flailed and protested, but Koma-san’s hand on his head prevented him from straightening up.

Harry gaped and immediately waved his hands to assure the older man. “No, no it’s alright, Koma-san! Really, please don’t lower your head to me. He had apologized to me for his actions too, so please.”

“But still…” the older man said, looking bothered.

“No, it’s really alright, Koma-san. He had promised me that he would not attack me again anyway, so don’t worry.” He smiled reassuringly, trying to make the man to stop being so… so meek. It was so out of character of the man and it made Harry feel discomfited.

Seeing (some) honesty in his smile, Koma-san sighed and let go of the blond, who pouted and rubbed the back of his head sulkily as he muttered, “I told you I have apologized to the squirt for my wrongdoings— _ow_!” and yelped when the chubby waiter slapped the back of his head for his disrespect.

“Well, if you’re sure it’s okay…” the waiter sent him a look. “You sure you don’t want me to punish him?”

“Yes, it’s really alright.” Harry nodded convincingly. The awkwardness in the air felt stifling and he was desperate to make it stop. “Can I order now?”

“Oh—yes. What would you like today, Harry-kun?” Koma-san grinned; already back to his usual persona.

“Oh, um… just black coffee is fine.” Actually, Harry really wanted to eat some cakes but considering what they seem to think he was, it would probably be best if he acted and think like a ghoul right now.

“I’ll be right back with your drink, then! And _Shouji_ ,” Koma-san sent him a look that conveyed a clear meaning of _‘mess with him and you’re dead’_ to everyone who saw it, before he went back to the back of the shop. As he disappeared from sight, the other customers too left the shop and the tall blond who accosted him a few nights ago without asking for his permission sat on the seat in front of him.

Harry eyed him warily.

“Just so you know, I didn’t tell Koma-san.” He began cautiously, expecting the blond to accuse him of lying, but instead the blond just scowled at him sulkily. Not really out of anger or annoyance, he seemed to just glare for the sake of it.

“I know. One of the former members of the Ape saw us that night and told Koma-san what happened when he came yesterday.” He grumbled. Harry wondered just how old the older man actually was and how could someone who looked so dignified act so much like a child.

“Oh.” Harry gnawed on his bottom lip as the silence stretched awkwardly after that. Thankfully, Koma-san returned at that moment, bringing a cup of delicious smelling coffee and a jar of… brown cubes? It looked like sugar but Harry doubted that the waiter would bring him sugar when he was under the impression that he was a ghoul.

“Sorry for the wait, here’s your coffee, Harry-kun.” The ghoul said as he set down the cup in front of him. Harry eyed the sugar curiously as he murmured his thanks. Noticing his curiosity, Shouji tilted his head slightly.

“Never seen one of those before?” he asked. “Do you not have it in your country?”

“I don’t know if they have them, but I’ve never seen it before.” Harry didn’t even know what that was. “What is that?”

The waiter lifted the jar from the tray he used to bring his coffee so he could take a better look at what’s inside. “It’s kind of a food supplement for us. Although it looked like sugar cubes, it’s not sweet, but it enhances the taste of the coffee and it could also curb some of your hunger too. This is a special batch that the manager made for Anteiku, so it’s more potent than those you could buy from other sources. Do you want to put some in your drink?”

For _us—_ this meant that it was made of materials that Harry really didn’t want to know where the origin was. Harry paled and immediately shook his head as he squashed the nausea he felt from his overactive imagination. Even if he’s masquerading as a ghoul, he had no intention to consume the same things they consume as well.

As he sipped his coffee tentatively, he noticed that Koma-san was looking at him strangely. Combined with several people speaking of how fond he was of him, Harry fidgeted uncomfortably under his stare.

“What is it?” he asked a bit defensively.

“It’s nothing, just… you… you…” Koma-san stumbled over his words, looking unsure if he should continue his words. “You remind me of my little brother.” The waiter finally admitted to him with a sigh and a wry smile, looking a bit embarrassed the way his ears were reddening faintly.

“Huh?” Harry blinked, surprised and not knowing the direction in which the topic will go with an introduction like that.

“At first I thought it was just your appearance—save your colorings you look almost identical to him.” Koma-san smiled wistfully. “But then the more often you came here, I began to notice similarities in your personality and your mannerism. He died a few years ago when he was your age, you see, so unconsciously I began to saw you as his stand-in with all the similarities you both have.”

Both Shouji and he looked stunned at the revelation, and the waiter grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. I didn’t plan on telling you at first, since no one liked to be a replacement of someone else and I thought you were a human—your scent is a bit misleading, you see—but you’re probably feeling a bit uncomfortable since apparently Irimi and this brute here deemed that it’s proper to tell you that I’m _fond_ of you and I don’t want you to misunderstand anything, so—”

“Oh.” He muttered unintelligently as Koma-san rambled to save his image, but then he smiled and laughed lightly as he finally understands everything. He felt stupid for worrying that Koma-san was harboring improper affection towards him.

“You can continue to think of me as your brother if you want, I don’t mind. I’ve always wanted a brother, anyway.” He grinned at the older man, who was also looking suspiciously misty eyed. The moment Harry think he was going to cry, the waiter suddenly grinned and rubbed his bulbous nose cockily, presumably to hide his emotional state but everyone who was watching could tell it was faked.

“Thanks.” Koma-san said, his grin widening.

Any further conversation are interrupted as the bell chimed indicating the opening of the front door, revealing several girls chatting animatedly with each other before they were greeted by the waitress from before—Koma-san called her Irimi, if he remembered correctly. Seeing new customers coming in, Koma-san bid both him and Shouji farewell and went to serve the girls.

“I didn’t know…” he heard the blond ghoul across him mumbled miserably after Koma-san was out of hearing range. “All this time I didn’t know that Koma-san was being reminded of his deceased brother and I selfishly got jealous by myself…”

Harry sighed, a smile on his lips as he reached out to pat the ghoul’s shoulder.

“I think Koma-san knew you regretted your actions, so don’t be too hard on yourself.” Harry smiled uncertainly and sipped more of his coffee. “Just don’t be too rash anymore, and learn how to control your emotion, okay?”

The blond brightened up considerably at his words and somehow Harry began to doubt who the older one was there. His rude thoughts were cut off as a growl resonated in the small shop. Harry looked down at his stomach and blushed as he realized that he was the one who was making the terrible sound.

“You haven’t eaten yet?” Harry shook his head and Shouji grinned at him. “Want to hunt together then?”

Harry blinked. “Hunt?”

“Meat, of course.” Shouji raised an eyebrow and glanced at the human girls from before. Finally getting what the blond was insinuating, Harry paled and shook his head.

“No!” Harry hissed at him. “No, I don’t need it. I don’t… like killing.”

“How do you get your food then?” Shouji looked at him questioningly like he had just grown a second head, like he couldn’t fathom the idea that there’s a ghoul who didn’t like killing. Well, Harry didn’t know about that, but he was no ghoul so it’s no surprise that he didn’t feel any excitement from _hunting_ his own kind.

“Well, usually I… bought it from an… acquaintance of mine, but since I came here I haven’t been able to contact him.” He lied awkwardly, avoiding looking at the blond’s warm brown eyes as he didn’t trust himself not to get picked up on his lie.

Shouji hummed thoughtfully. “So you haven’t eaten proper food since you came to Japan? You _do_ know that’s dangerous, right—oh wait, you mean I could have been able to easily defeat you back then without any difficulties then? Man, what a waste— _ow_! I’m just kidding! Sheesh, you’re too vicious, brat.” He rubbed his arm, which Harry just pinched hard, with a scowl.

Shouji ducked his head to avoid his glare and pointed at himself proudly. “I can hunt for you if you don’t want to do it yourself. It’d be a way for me to redeem myself too, right?”

_No. You’re just going to lose a few more points if you kill in front of me._

“You don’t have to redeem yourself! I don’t need you to hunt for me, I—” Harry scowled. “I can handle a few more days without food.”

Shouji sighed, seeing how he wouldn’t budge at all. “You’re so high maintenance. Fine, let’s ask Koma-san if Yoshimura-san’s here today.”

Why was he bringing Yoshimura-san into this? Harry thought as he allowed the hyperactive blond tug his hand towards where the chubby waiter was making drinks for the human customers. It turned out that the manager of Anteiku was indeed there, he just decided to be more elusive as usual and was tending to something on the closed off part of the café. It sounded a bit suspicious, if Harry was honest.

Shouji led him through a set of corridors and stairs heading downward until they reached a small nondescript door with an “Employees Only” sign attached on it at the basement of the shop. It was not as well-lit as the shop itself and Harry eyed the door warily.

 “It says employees only, you dolt!” he hissed to the blond.

“That’s only for human customers, you brat.” Shouji hissed back at him, before he straightened himself up and raised a hand to knock on the door.

“Yoshimura-saaan, do you have some of _that_ left? Harry here has been starving himself and won’t eat anything that is killed. I’m worried that he will lose control soon if he didn’t eat anything.” the ghoul said in a hush-hush tone.

“Come in, Touno-kun, Harry-kun.” They heard the soft muffled voice of the manager from behind the door, and after looking at each other, Shouji shrugged and opened the door widely to allow Harry to enter first. The room he just entered was cold, and many refrigerators were lined up inside the room.

Harry stared in a mixture of amazement and apprehension around the room. Yoshimura-san was there at a counter on the east side of the room, slicing a large lump of meat into smaller pieces. Seeing the soft pale skin of a dead human covering one side of the meat, Harry immediately felt sick. The redness of the flesh was chilling his bones, and the scent of fresh blood was so nauseating that had to cover his mouth and nose lest he threw up in there.

Merlin, not even Voldemort was able to draw such a reaction from him.

Shouji was the opposite of his condition. He seemed to thrive inside the room, and he was eyeing the meat that Yoshimura-san was holding with great interest.

“It smells so good! Yoshimura-san, is that the latest supplies that Yomo-san brought?” Seeing the old ghoul nod in confirmation, Shouji whistled. “Wow, lucky! Good for you, Harry. You can eat them while they’re still somewhat fresh.”

If Shouji didn’t stop talking he really will puke on the blond, Harry swore. Where did Yoshimura-san or this Yomo-san get those meats anyway? Did they murder those humans to harvest their flesh?

“Touno-kun, if you would help me bring some of the wrapping papers and threads from the shelves over there I would be very grateful.” Yoshimura-san said with his usual serene expression.

“Sure! Let me get them real quick.” Shouji saluted and rushed to do his requested task while Harry just stood there watching the manager of Anteiku work with cold efficiency of someone who was already accustomed to doing this.

“What…” Harry began as he stared at the old man who was wrapping the sliced meats into small packages with the brown papers and threads Shouji brought him earlier. “What is Anteiku?”

As he finished his question, Yoshimura-san stopped his movements for a while and looked at him with an unreadable expression, before he smiled again and returned to doing what he was doing before.

“In the beginnings… when I opened Anteiku it was just with the intention to open a normal coffee shop. I wanted to make it a sanctuary for ghouls, a place where they could come in and relax and meet each other without the fear of exposing themselves.” Yoshimura-san told him as he stuffed some of the finished packages inside one of the refrigerators.

“Of course, sometimes human customers also wander in, but every ghoul who came here knew of the unspoken agreement that they are not allowed to hunt human customers of the café to keep this place safe from the CCG’s observation. Those who decided that they won’t abide by this rule are subsequently banned from ever entering Anteiku ever again.” The old man continued as he went back to the counter he was working on and picked the best looking meat there and begun to wrap it too.

“I began to notice that some ghouls have difficulties in procuring food some times after Anteiku was opened, either because of their inability to hunt by themselves or by their unwillingness to take someone’s life, so I begun to help providing those who have that problem with food by searching and collecting the bodies of those who have committed suicide and also providing other aids for other ghouls who are in need of help. Before I knew it Anteiku has become the center organization of the 20th ward’s ghoul.” Yoshimura-san finished with a smile as he handed Harry the neatly wrapped package of human meat that he just finished wrapping.

There are ghouls who can’t hunt humans? Ghouls who are unwilling to take humans’ lives? It was unthinkable, but this very room is the proof of their existence.

With trembling hands, Harry accepted the package that the old ghoul was handing him and promptly break out in a full body shiver when he felt the squishy texture of the meat on his palms. He wanted to throw up so bad. Why did he ever think that masquerading as a ghoul was a great idea? Still, he smiled at the manager of Anteiku as he accepted it.

“Thank you, Yoshimura-san.” He said, before a thought flashed in his mind. “What about you though? Or Koma-san and Irimi-san and Shouji? Do all of you also eat these meats of suicide victims? Shouji mentioned earlier that he still hunts people for food.”

“Why do you used honorifics on everyone else’s names but not mine?!” Shouji complained, which he pointedly ignored as he focused his attention on Yoshimura-san. The old ghoul smiled in amusement and answered his questions.

“I don’t forbid them from killing if that’s what you’re asking, Harry-kun. I do ask them to be careful and not expose themselves if they decided to hunt and ask them to only hunt the worst kind of humans they could find that no one will miss, though.” Yoshimura-san answered.

“Worst kind of humans?” Harry inquired, glancing at Shouji who huffed after being ignored and was examining all the meats stored in there with great interest like he wanted to taste them.

“Rapist, murderers.” The old man said. “Those were only the examples. We don’t mean to play God to punish them for their crimes or anything like that, but between young students with a bright future or loving parents whose children still depended on them and people like them who commit the worst kind of crimes, which of them would you choose, Harry-kun?” the old man asked him.

Harry looked down at his feet. “I… I’d rather not kill at all.”

“True, that would be the right course of action that any good person would choose. But people didn’t commit suicide every day, Harry-kun. I’m not saying that I hope that humans would kill themselves more, but there wouldn’t be enough to feed every ghoul out there if we relied on suicide victims alone even with us only needing to feed once a month.” The old man explained grimly, his expression was that of regret as he said that.

“You’re a good person, Harry-kun. I’m not saying this to tell you have to hunt and kill people by yourself. After all, this place exists to help provide people like you, who are too gentle to take someone’s life by themselves.”

Harry could only stand there, not saying anything as the old ghoul’s words rang again and again inside his mind.

 

 

In the end, he just bid the manager of the coffee shop goodbye after he told the man his thanks again. Outside of Anteiku, Harry stared at the neatly wrapped package with consternation and stuffed it back inside his bag, feeling his hand trembled a little when he finally realized that he was _touching and putting human meat inside his bag_. How horrifying.

Harry stalled going back to his new apartment, instead taking a detour and walked around the town that would be his new home for the unforeseeable future and stopped to sit on a park bench at a nearby public park as he contemplated about what he should do to the package of dead human meat that was still stored inside his bag.

What was he supposed to do with it…? Should he throw it away? No, that would be disrespectful to both the owner of the flesh and Yoshimura-san. Should he bury it somewhere then? As he mused this inside his head grimly, he became aware that a girl a few years younger than him had approached him and was looking at him curiously.

He smiled at the girl uncertainly, waiting for the girl to say something about why she approached him but the girl only fiddled with her dress and stared at him longingly but shyly as she fidgeted where she was standing.

“Um, hello?” He asked tentatively. This girl couldn’t possibly be a witch and recognize him, could she? “Is there anything you require of me?”

“Um…” The little girl lowered her head and fidgeted shyly even more. He was about to open his mouth again when suddenly he heard a growl from the girl’s stomach. His eyebrows raised in surprise as the girl also looked up in embarrassment.

“I… I’m sorry. I was with mother, but then I got hungry and smelled something good from _oniichan_ ’s bag… before I knew it I was already following _oniichan_ here.” The girl finally said after she got over her embarrassment. Harry furrowed his brows. He didn’t remember bringing something that would smell good to a human. Could this child be…?

He took his bag and rummaged inside it to take out the package he got from Yoshimura-san. The moment it was out of the bag, the girl’s eyes changed to black and red and he involuntarily shivered at the sight.

“Calm down. It’ll be dangerous if someone saw your eyes.” Harry hissed at her and looked around to see if someone noticed her eyes. Thankfully, the other person who was in that park with them was an old, homeless-looking man who was sleeping on another bench on the other side of the park.

The girl blushed in embarrassment and clenched her eyes shut, before opening them again with them looking like normal eyes once again. Harry sighed, suddenly feeling tired before he smiled at her as he offered the package at her. “You can take this if you want.”

The girl’s eyes sparkled when he said it that it tugged at his heart. “Really?”

Harry nodded, and patted her head. The girl was not that much younger than him but her innocent demeanor made her look like she was a child. “Yeah. Just don’t tell anyone I’m the one who gave this to you, alright?”

“I won’t! Thank you so much, _oniichan_!” The girl nodded so enthusiastically, forgetting her own shyness. “You don’t smell like a ghoul but you also don’t smell like a human so I wasn’t quite sure in approaching you earlier, but I’m glad that I did because you’re so kind, _oniichan_! Thank you so much! I’ll be sure to share this with mother and father!”

Harry’s smile faltered at her innocently made statement. He didn’t smell like a human, yet also not like a ghoul. Well, he knew that he was neither already, but hearing someone saying that somehow stung a bit. It was not the girl’s fault though, so he didn’t blame her.

From the distance, they heard a woman calling out “Hinami!” frantically and he turned his attention back to the girl, who gasped as she remembered that she had just wandered away from her mother and was probably making her worried out of her mind.

“Ah, that must be mother! I’m sorry _oniichan_ , I must go now!” She bowed at him respectfully and he smiled slightly.

“Don’t stray from your mother next time, alright?”

“Un!” She beamed and waved at him before running out towards her mother’s voice. Harry waved back at her less enthusiastically and dropped his hand the moment he couldn’t see her back anymore. Well, that took care of his little problem then, Harry thought before he readied himself for his own journey home.

Back to studying then, Harry thought, feeling a little depressed.

 

 

Three days later saw Harry back at the small coffee shop looking more exhausted than he had ever been. Harry had gotten tired after studying at his new apartment for three continuous days with little to no progress. Moreover, with Sirius out, the empty space of the expensive thing felt stifling, and so he went to Anteiku in the hope that he will be able to concentrate better in there.

Instead he was met with an obstacle in the form of a certain blond ghoul.

“What’s this? You’re studying for your middle school entrance exam?” Shouji snatched his exercise book, ignoring his weak protests. Seeing the multitude of wrong answers in the book written in his chicken-scratch handwriting, the blond whistled in amazement. “Wow, you’re really bad at this, aren’t you?”

Harry reached around his mountains of papers and snatched the book back with a half-hearted scowl. “Yes. That’s why, _please shut up and get out_. I’m trying to concentrate here.”

Shouji grinned at him and pointed a finger at his nose. “Want me to tutor you? I’m one of the beneficiaries of Kamii University’s academic scholarship, after all!”

“No way.” He turned towards the chubby waiter, who was delivering him yet another cup of coffee for confirmation. “Koma-san?”

The Ape’s boss looked at him sympathetically, understanding disbelieve. “It’s true. I don’t believe it at first either.”

Shouji gasped, horrified. “Even Koma-san is bullying me! Harry, you’re a bad influence on Koma-san! I’m really smart, you know!”

“You sure as hell don’t look _or_ act like it, excuse me if I found it hard to believe.” Harry grumbled as he focused his attention back towards his partially filled exercise book with a frown. Despite the joking manner he was saying it, Shouji was right though; it was full of wrong answers. There was no way he would pass the entrance exam that was going to happen in ten days.

Oh Merlin, he’s going to fail it.

“You want my help or not?!” Shouji huffed at him as he sat on a seat across from him. Harry sighed. It couldn’t get any worse after all. Sure, why not.

“Fine.” He said.

“Why do you sound like you’re just indulging me?” He grumbled, opening one of his math books to look at the materials that he would be teaching him.

“Maybe that’s because I am.” Harry grumbled too, though contrary to what he believed at first, Shouji was actually very good at teaching.

The blond’s teaching methods are not only very easy to understand, he also made it fun too. Not “fun” in a way an elementary school teacher would teach their students, but “fun” as in not boring. Harry was amazed by the time he realized that he had learned more in the last two hours with Shouji than the last three days he studied by himself.

He took back his previous statement. The blond was not an obstacle at all, he was a _godsend_. At this rate, he may just be able to pass the damn entrance exams.

“It’s almost dark, you know. Should we stop here today?” the blond said, as he stretched and covered a yawn. Not listening to what the blond was saying, Harry grabbed both Shouji’s hands and hold them tightly, surprising the blond who looked more than a little startled. The blond gaped at him in slight bewilderment, but Harry didn’t take notice of this as he stared hopefully at the blond.

“Please help me for the next nine days too, Shouji!” he pleaded. “I don’t think I can pass the exam without your guidance!”

Shouji’s brain seemed to have short-circuited as he gawked at Harry with a flushed face, mouth opening and closing like a fish before he finally came back to his senses and turned his face away in embarrassment.

“I know, I know! Now let go of my hands, damn it!” The blond hissed at him, and Harry just then noticed the redness on Shouji’s face and the tenseness he held himself with. Harry couldn’t help it, he laughed.

“What are you, a maiden?” he chortled as he finally released Shouji’s hands, making the blond crossed his arms with a scowl, though his face was still bright red with embarrassment that his scowl was not very convincing.

“Do you want my help or not?” Shouji huffed, echoing his previous question just two hours prior. Harry smiled at him with warm eyes, beginning to take a true liking to the blond. He had a feeling that just maybe, the blond and him would get along swimmingly despite their disastrous first meeting. He could tell that the blond have been trying so hard to redeem himself that it’s actually touching.

“Please take care of me then,” Harry grinned mischievously. “ _Sensei_.”

The blond groaned.

“ _Please_ don’t call me that.”

**Next Chapter: Golden**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry is a bully, and Shouji is a pure hearted maiden.
> 
> I procrastinated watching TGA to prepare my heart since it made everyone weep and despair and I didn’t want to end up like them, but did I succeed? _No I didn’t_. Not only that, Sui used the ideas I’ve been planning to insert in this story since January of this year first and now I’m going to lost points for unoriginality. =( 
> 
> On another note **I have finally decided on the pairings**. And let me warn you that I think you won’t be happy with me. You can prepare the pitchforks to pierce me with from now on, if you want, but I will keep the pairings secret for now. 
> 
> I still can’t believe D. Gray-Man is back. Wow. I wonder when the next hiatus will begin. Also, I haven’t read this chapter through. If you find any mistakes or a strange scene that doesn’t fit with the chapter, please tell me!


	4. Golden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slow paced story and slow, irregular update. It’s been what? Half a year? More?? You’re all so lucky to have me as this story’s author lol. But at least this chapter’s long.
> 
> I really mean it. It’s long. It’s like several chapters crammed into one.
> 
> Also, please excuse my poor writing skills. The fighting scene is seriously terrible in here. I tried to make it realistic but I think I failed. I’m also really sorry that the part with Touka is really choppy. I only looked this over once, so if there're any mistakes please tell me!
> 
>  **A little bit of warning though:** There’s a scene containing a **train molester** at the very end of the chapter, sorry if you’re squeamish by this kind of thing.

Harry’s heart was pumping hard, a joyful expression painted on his face as he raced from the train station towards Anteiku where he knew his teacher of the last few days would be at, clutching the acceptance letter to his new school that just arrived in his mailbox not even an hour ago.

He was accepted!

Harry still couldn’t believe it. Looking at the piece of paper in his hand as he ran, he grinned proudly. He never felt so accomplished or proud in his life before, except maybe for Quidditch related matters. It felt really good, actually. If that was how Hermione felt every time she did well in school, then he understood completely why she was so mental during exams period.

His rather imaginative thoughts of how Shouji and the others would react to him being accepted by the prestigious school which only accepted the best or the rich was ruined when a young female bumped into him mid-run and sent him flying to the ground.

“Tch. Watch where you’re going!” the female spat at him harshly. Not a second later the girl took off again, her pace hurried. Her purple colored hair gleamed beautifully under the sunlight, and Harry, still sitting on his butt in the wake of the storm that was the purple-haired girl, could only watch her back disappeared into the distance with confusion and a pinch of irritation.

“That was kind of rude.” Harry finally got up and patted his jeans clean of dirt. He sent another glance to the direction the girl just disappeared to and tilted his head as he wracked his brain for a memory. He knew he had seen that hair color before, but where?

The answer came to him the moment he stepped inside the warm coffee shop he had become a regular at.

He gasped in realization.

That’s it! She’s one of Yoshimura-san’s wards! Which meant that she was a ghoul too! Harry frowned a little, lost in thought. Why were there so many ghouls in Tokyo? Was it like this in the other areas too or was it just here?

His musings were interrupted by Shouji’s cheerful greeting.

“Harry! Here, I’ve saved us a table!” The blond grinned. Harry’s eyes snapped to the direction where his voice came from and he spotted the blond sitting at a nice and comfortable looking small table for two on the corner of the room. Looking at the other tables, Harry decided that it was a good thing that the ghoul saved them a table. The café was packed today, unlike the usual.

“Shouji.” Harry smiled in greeting and sat in front of the blond. The ghoul was tying his hair up into a small ponytail today. It suited him ridiculously well, making his already handsome face even more noticeable that the female customers from around the shop was _secretly_ glancing at him every once in a while and giggling with their friends.

Harry cringed at the sight, feeling a bit sorry for the girls for being charmed by someone like Shouji. Sure, he looked attractive if he was not speaking, but the moment he opened his mouth all those handsomeness just seemed to fled him. The ghoul was so immature it’s a bit cringe-worthy.

“Why is the shop so crowded today?” Harry asked as he took off his light jacket. Even though it was hot, he’d rather sweat than suffer the pain from sunburn, so jacket it was for him. 

Shouji beamed at him, pleased that he took notice. “There’s a big shot theater group playing nearby for a week only. I was thinking of asking you to come with me to see it if you have the time later today since I have the tickets. How about it? Interested?”

“A theater?” Harry asked as he waved with a smile at Koma-san as a greeting, as well as to sign that he wanted to order something. “What are they playing?”

“I don’t really know the details, but… some kind of romantic story between a ghoul and a human?” Shouji shrugged and leaned back on his chair.

Harry raised an eyebrow, throwing the blond a weird look. “Given what you thought of humans, I would think that you’d hate that kind of story.”

Shouji froze for a second, before he crossed his arms across his chest as he replied.

“Well, yeah, but I happen to be interested in theater and right now I’m really bored. I hardly have anything to do ever since summer vacation began, and it’s almost over already. I’m going to _die_ of boredom if this continues.” Shouji huffed. “Come on, it’ll be fun. I think. I hope so.”

Harry felt a little suspicious of the blond as he felt they were not really close enough to go out together, but he didn’t have anything planned for the day. “Hmm… okay. I’ll go with you.”

Shouji cheered at his agreement.

“He asked you _too_ , huh, Harry-kun?” Koma-san’s voice suddenly rang behind him. Harry turned his head and saw the waiter shaking his head in exasperation. Harry chuckled at his expression.

“Good morning, Koma-san. I think I want iced coffee today, if that’s alright?” He told the waiter. “He asked you too?”

“More like he _pestered_ me since morning. And of course, Harry-kun. I’ll be back with your order soon.” The older ghoul flashed him a thumb and disappeared behind the counter. Watching the big form of the older ghoul walking away from their table, Harry suddenly remembered his reason for coming there in the first place.

“ _Oh_ , that’s right! Shouji, there’s something I want to show…” he looked at his empty hands and trailed off. That was weird. Where was his acceptance letter? He was pretty sure he was clutching it tightly on his hand when he was on the way. He searched his jeans and jacket pockets, but found nothing.

He tilted his head and frowned as he rummaged his memories. Where did he lose it? How _could_ he even lose it? Even though it was so important to him.

A flash of purple and sunlight fluttered behind his eyelids and he gasped in realization. He frowned in disappointment. That’s right, the girl! He must have dropped it when they bumped into each other before.

“What did you want to show me?” Shouji asked from across him, looking curious.

Harry shook his head dejectedly, his good mood ruined. “Oh… it was my acceptance letter. I guess I dropped it when she bumped into me earlier.”

“She?” Shouji blinked. “Wait, did you just said acceptance letter? Harry, you got accepted to Seinan? That’s really awesome, I knew you could do it! Congratulation!”

Harry’s cheeks reddened a little at that, feeling a little happy that he was being so earnestly congratulated. “It’s all thanks to you. Thank you for teaching me these last few days. You really helped me.”

“Ooh, what’s this? You’re being bashful and honest?” Shouji grinned teasingly at him as he rested his elbow on the table. Embarrassed from being teased, Harry’s blush deepened and he scowled at the blond, who only chuckled in response. “I’m just joking, okay? Who bumped into you and make you lose the letter? Want me to beat them up?”

“ _Beat them_ —” Harry eyed him warily. “It was a girl with purple hair. I think she was one of Yoshimura-san’s wards?”

“Oh, Touka-chan?” Shouji scrunched his nose like he just tasted something sour, but it was only for a second before his usual expression was back on his face. Harry nodded his head a bit uncertainly.

“Um, yes, sure. Maybe? I don’t know. But she was running really fast and looked pissed. Do you have any idea why she was running around like that?”

“Nope.” Shouji shrugged. “Touka-chan and I don’t get along well, so I don’t really know her business.”

“Oh… you don’t get along well with her?” Harry honestly thought that all ghouls were friends and get along well with each other because they were minority, but apparently not.

Shouji scrunched up his nose again. “Not really, no. She’s violent and easily riled up. She also have a foul mouth and so very unladylike. Not to mention, she always made fun of my hair and…”

Shouji went on and on about why he didn’t get along well with this “Touka-chan”. _Most of his reasonings were actually very inconsequential and trifling too_ , Harry thought as he rolled his eyes as he heard the most ridiculous reasons of disliking someone ever passing from the blond’s lips. And wasn’t he just basically describing himself there?

“…but I heard from Koma-san that Ayato, her brother, is even more violent and badly behaved than her though. It seemed he constantly get into street fights and lately he’s been running away from home a lot. Yomo-san—ah, he’s one of Yoshimura-san’s associates too—he usually managed to track the boy down and bring him back here before he got too far, but recently the boy has been more resourceful and adept at hiding his tracks, I hear. Maybe he ran away again and she was looking for him to drag him back?”

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but then Koma-san came with his drink.

“Is he gossiping like a schoolgirl now too? Harry-kun, you know you can ditch him if he becomes too annoying right?” the waiter sighed.

“So mean! I’m not gossiping.” Shouji complained loudly, making Harry cringe. _Why is this ghoul so childish?_

“Yes, yes. Now go back to your gossips. I’ll be out in the back if you need me.” Koma-san saluted, and patted Harry’s head. Harry swatted his hand away playfully, with a light smile to show he didn’t actually mind being treated like that.

Shouji pouted again after Koma-san left. “Damnit, I’m so jealous.”

Harry could only laugh awkwardly at that. These ghouls were so dramatic they’re ridiculous.

 

 

Eventually, Harry finished up his drink and together with Shouji they saw the play that Shouji invited him to see.

Truthfully, Harry was also really curious and a bit excited. He had never seen something like a theater play before. Heck, he had never even seen a normal movie before. He guessed living under the care of a somewhat abusive relatives and then being sequestered away to a magical boarding school tended to make you unfamiliar with quite a lot of things that were normal to other people.

The play was actually pretty fun. The story was about a male ghoul and a human female falling in love and had a child together, which was pretty ridiculous by itself since he heard that such a child was impossible conceive, but it was fiction so Harry wasn’t going to complain too much. At the end though, the human female and their child was killed by another ghoul, and the male ghoul died by the CCG’s hand after avenging his family.

Despite the ridiculous beginning of the story, Harry found himself enjoying it. It was kind of romantic in a tragic kind of way. He idly wondered if the scriptwriter actually wanted humans and ghouls to be able to coexist or something. Well, whatever his reasons were, the play had actually reminded him of one danger factor that he had forgotten until now:

The Commission of Counter Ghouls, or usually abbreviated as the CCG.

Harry could admit that living and having close relationships with creatures that eat your kind was a bit creepy (and a lot dangerous) so he knew that the existence of CCG was necessary for the safety of the citizens, but now that he possessed the ability to produce kagune and kakugan—their existence might endanger his life too now.

He had to prepare himself for the time they discovered him.

Hopefully they never did though. He’d rather not face danger at all here.

His musings was interrupted by a certain ghoul’s voice, bringing him back to their conversation.

“…re you listening?”

“Huh? Yes, I am.” Not really. He was lost in thoughts.

Shouji looked skeptical.

“ _Suuure_. As I was saying, that was a bit weird, but their acting’s not so bad. The fighting scenes need a lot of improvements though. If you fought like that in real life you’re _screwed_.” Shouji said as they walked through the shortcut alleys back to Harry’s apartment. It was getting a bit late, and though he told him that he could go home by himself, Shouji insisted that he’d walk him. Probably because he was worried that Koma-san would kick his ass if anything happened to him, Harry snorted.

“They were just actors, Shouji, not actual fighters.” Harry huffed in amusement. “I think it’s great though. I’ve never seen a play like this before, but I really enjoyed it. Is a movie this interesting too? I’ve never seen one before.” He said honestly.

“You’ve never seen a movie before? Harry, did you live under a rock growing up?” Shouji laughed.

_…_

_He’s going to hit this insensitive ghoul in the head._

_With a chair._

“No, but I lived inside a cupboard under the stairs.” Harry said, irritated.

“Huh?” Shouji looked confused at first, before his expression hardened like he was going to murder someone. “Harry, where did you say you lived?”

Oops, it seemed like he accidentally revealed too much of his sorry situation back home.

Seeing Shouji’s enraged expression though, Harry sighed.

“It’s not a big deal okay. I was raised by _mug_ —humans. They knew that I am a ghoul, and they’re kind of scared of me, so they made me live inside the cupboard under the stairs so they don’t have to see me often.” Slightly altering the truth of the situation, Harry patted Shouji’s arm to calm him down. “It’s not as bad as it sounds, I swear. The cupboard was actually very spacey too unlike the cupboard size in Japan. I was really small as a child too so it was more than enough for me. Plus they gave me an actual bedroom when I got bigger, so it’s fine.”

“You’re still small right now, actually.” Shouji said without thinking. Seeing his glare, the blond put up his hands in surrender and shook his head. “But that’s not the point! It’s not ‘fine’, Harry! You did not deserve to be treated like that. You see now what I meant? Humans are the worst kind of creatures out there!”

Hearing the older male’s words that hit a little too close to home, Harry couldn’t help but felt a little sad. Why were there prejudice everywhere? Purebloods against muggleborns, magicals against muggles, humans against ghouls, ghouls against humans…

“Do you really think that’s true, Shouji?” He asked the blond whose black and red eyes shone with burning rage at his question. Even though knowing that those rage were not directed at him, Harry couldn’t help but get the chills from seeing them.

“Of course! Humans are weak but violent. They’re stupid and they immediately saw us as monsters without even trying to understand us. They always made up the stupidest lies and are quick to betray you no matter how deep your bond was with them. I _hate_ them. The only thing they’re good for is to be our meal!”

Hearing those passionate words coming out of the ghoul’s lips, Harry had a feeling that Shouji’s rage was not really directed at humans in general, but towards a particular person. His eyes were distant, like he was seeing something else—someone else—instead of him.

“But a lot of ghouls are like that too, right?” Harry asked him as he tried to calm himself.

Shouji gritted his teeth. “But not all ghouls are like that!”

“—and not all humans are like that too, Shouji.” Harry interrupted.

“My relatives, the people I used to live with… I agree that they are not the best kind of humans. They’re quick to anger and always blamed me for everything that went wrong in their _perfectly normal_ life. But they still took care of me. They gave me food, clothing, and a roof for shelter. You know they didn’t have to do that. They could just throw me away to the street for other ghouls to prey on or turn me in to the CCG, but they chose to take me in. And look at my godfather! He’s not perfect, but he cares about me a lot.”

Shouji sneered. “He didn’t count. He didn’t know that you’re a ghoul—”

“He knows, Shouji.” Harry interrupted again.

The ghoul’s mouth went slack after Harry said his words, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What?”

“Sirius knows what I am. He found out several days ago, and he has accepted me for what I am.” Harry stared the blond right in his eyes, daring him to contest his words. Because even though he might be twisting the truth a little, this little fact was an absolute truth. His godfather truly cared for him, no matter what he was.

“You need to know that not all humans are bad, Shouji. Just like not all ghouls will be good to you just because you’re the same species as them.”

Shouji’s expressions twisted into something pitiful to look on at his words. There were still so much anger in his eyes—but there were also guilt there. Harry had a feeling that not all of those anger were directed at humanity, but also to himself too. Harry didn’t know what the blond was thinking, but he didn’t like the expressions on his face at all.

“But, but… the humans, _they_ …!”

_Crack._

Before Shouji could finish his words, suddenly a loud sound echoed through the alley they were in. The pavement and even the buildings shook, making quite a lot of dusts and splinters fell down on them. Harry yelped in surprise and immediately grabbed Shouji’s shirt for support.

“An earthquake?” he asked worriedly. If it was an earthquake, then being inside an alley surrounded by tall buildings like that was really dangerous. Shouji grabbed Harry’s shoulder to steady him as he focused his senses on the sounds.

_Crash. Swoosh. Clang! Clang!_

“No, this is—” Shouji narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on Harry’s shoulders. The sounds were getting nearer. This was something far more dangerous than an earthquake. “Uh oh. Harry, we should go. _Now_.”

“What? Why? Shouji, what was that?” Harry asked wide-eyed, looking at the direction where the sounds were coming from. The ground and the buildings around them shook again, in time with the noises.

“There’s no time to explain. Just go. We don’t want to get involved.” Shouji said, looking panicked as he grabbed Harry’s hand and proceeded to drag him away from that place, but he was too late recognizing the danger. Without warning he pulled Harry onto his chest, wrapped his arms around him tightly, jumped into the air, and _crash_! One moment the ground they were previously on was fine and the next it was already reduced to a big crater and a pile of rubbles.

“Holy shit.” Harry gaped at the crater in incredulity as they landed several meters away. What exactly was happening here? He craned his neck to look at Shouji and was surprised that the blond was wearing his mask.

“Why are you—”

“ _Sh!_ Don’t speak too loud. Wear your mask, quick, before the Doves see your face.” Shouji hissed quietly.

 _Doves? What doves?_ Harry glanced back at the scene, where he finally saw what the blond meant by doves.

There were two men; one tall, young, and pretty handsome while the other was shorter, old, and had a crazed grin on his face. There were three things that was similar with the both of them though. One, they were both wearing white coats. Two, they were holding on some strange weapons. Three, they were cornering a ghoul who looked enraged and was in a defensive position.

White coats. Weapons. Those emblems.

_They were from the CCG._

Crap.

“I don’t have it.” Harry whispered back to the blond ghoul frantically. “Shouji, _I don’t have it_.”

“ _What_?”

He couldn’t see Shouji’s expression, but from his tone, Harry could tell that the blond was starting to panic too.

“How could you not have it? You should have always bring it wherever you go, stupid!”

Well, how could he have a mask ready at hand in such a short notice? He still haven’t prepared himself for a meeting with CCG agents! He wasn’t even aware of the purpose of the mask Shouji wore until just now. He thought Shouji wore it because he has a _chuunibyou_ or something. How could he know that it was to hide his identity from the CCG?

“I broke it and I haven’t had the time to buy a new one, okay.” Harry lied as he ducked behind Shouji’s body to hide his face from the two investigators, who had begun to notice them. _What to do, what to do…_

“You two, stay away from this place! It’s dangerous!” The younger investigator yelled as he brandished his strange weapon at the ghoul he was cornering. Harry’s heart felt a little pity for the ghoul. The man looked ragged and exhausted; there were cuts and blood everywhere on his body too whilst the two Investigators only looked a little windswept, yet he still had the will to fight back, his kagune sprouted from his lower back like an octopus’s tentacles.

“Wait Amon-kun, those two…” The older one tilted his head and grinned at them. “You two are ghouls, aren’t you?”

Harry felt Shouji’s body tensed at the old Investigator’s words.

How could he tell they were ghouls from that distance—when Shouji was turning his back on them?

“What?” The younger Investigator whipped his head towards them in shock, and then grunted in pain when the wounded ghoul rammed onto him when he was not paying attention to him. He managed to block the attack with his oversized weapon at the last second.

“Well, well. What a pleasant surprise. You two are not on our list today, but it seems like we’d be bringing two additional corpses back to the headquarters, right Amon-kun?” the old Investigator said in delight. “Let’s see if your materials are of good quality or not, shall we?"

Oooh no Harry didn’t like how he could talk so casually about killing them. And what was he saying about their materials? Which materials? Materials for what? There’s so many questions in his head, but he must focus on the matters at hand first.

“Can we win?” he whispered to Shouji.

“Maybe against one of them.” Shouji said as he materialized his tail-like kagune, preparing himself for an attack. “I’ve heard of them before. Amon Koutarou and Mado Kureo. They’re fairly high ranking Doves. It’ll be impossible to win against the both of them.”

Something inside Harry twisted uncomfortably at Shouji’s admission. “Then…”

“You deal with that one, Amon-kun. I’ll handle these two.” The old man grinned manically and whipped out his own weapon, a long red whip that looked fragile at first glance, but Harry knew that it was not the case at all. Without warning, the old Investigator drew his weapon back and swung it at them.

Shouji reacted quickly and deflected the whip using his tail. It hit the building beside them, destroying part of the wall in a shower of dust and debris.

“Kahaha! Would you look at that, Amon-kun? How splendid! It looks like we hit the jackpot! You’d make a way better material than the weakling over there.” _Urgh_ , that creepy grin. Harry shuddered. Again, what material? Looking at the blond who was nearly trembling with rage, a gut-wrenching awareness came to his mind. Could they be talking about the kagune?

Harry glanced at the two Investigator’s weapons with trepidation, and he finally realized.

_Oh._

He was going to be sick. So gruesome.

It’s really horrible, but it made sense in a way, since it was almost impossible to wound a ghoul with ordinary weapons, but… how could they made anti-ghoul weapons from the kagune of ghouls? The very idea itself was sickening.

The ghoul with the octopus-like kagune suddenly threw an attack on them, using his steel-like tentacles to knock about everything in his vicinity. It seemed he didn’t care who or what he was attacking anymore, as both Shouji and he was being attacked too. Shouji immediately used his kagune to shield them from the tentacle.

“Mado-san!” the younger Investigators yelled in concern of his partner. “You trash! How dare you!”

Enraged by their target’s actions, he glared and leapt towards the ghoul, swinging his oversized weapon at him. The ghoul dodged his attack with ease and strike back with his leg, sending the young Investigator flying back several meters away.

While all this was happening, Shouji whispered to him. “Harry, go. You don’t have your mask, it’ll be dangerous if they saw your face. Quick, while they were distracted by that one.”

Harry’s eyes widened in surprise hearing his words.

“Are you out of your mind? I’m not leaving you here by yourself!” He hissed back.

“I’m not weak, Harry! I may not be as strong as Koma-san or Yoshimura-san, but I won’t go down so easily.” Shouji hissed at him. “Run. I’ll catch up with you later.”

Harry eyed him in disbelieve. “Usually people who said that never did catch up with the one they said they’ll catch up with, so no, I’m _not_ leaving.”

“You stubborn brat!” Shouji gritted his teeth in frustration. He put his hands on Harry’s shoulders and squeezed it. “I can’t protect you and fight at the same time!”

“I don’t _need_ to be protected!” Harry hissed again, stabbing his pointer finger at the blond’s chest harshly. “Don’t try to play hero at a time like this, Shouji! This whole discussion is ridiculous. We should just run together now while we have the chance!”

All of a sudden Shouji twitched and flicked his tail again to deflect another blow. Harry winced. He didn’t even sense that coming; that was simply too fast for him to follow. Aren’t these Investigators supposed to be humans? How in the heavens could they move like that?

“Are you done talking?” The old man grinned at them, flaunting his whip. “Kuhahaha! How ridiculous. Look at you trying to protect your little friend. How disgusting.”

“Shut up!” Shouji snarled. He pushed Harry away from him and leapt at the old Investigator. He swung his tail at the man, followed by a consecutive attack using his legs and fists too. The old man only laughed in delight as he blocked and deflected each of Shouji’s attacks.

From the ground where he had fallen, Harry could only watched him fight with astonishment. So this was a ghoul’s fight. The fight was astoundingly fast-paced, and each blow dealt was powerful enough to break concrete. Shouji dived from the ground to a building’s wall, then bounded back towards the old man with speed so fast Harry could barely see his figure and hit him with his kagune head on.

Harry’s heart skipped a beat in fright, expecting to see the pulverized remains of a human, but what he saw was more heart-stopping than his imagination.

The old man had Shouji trapped in place with his weapon.

Harry paled. That… that _cheating_ _bastard_! How was Shouji supposed to know that he had another weapon concealed on his body?

“Damnit!” Shouji struggled against the strange _weapon_ *, but the more he fought back, the more the weapon tightened around him and the more ‘teeth’ of the weapon bit him.

“Kuhuhu. Are you surprised? This is a new one I just finished the other day. Beautiful, isn’t she?” the Investigator said proudly, tightening the grip of the weapon on Shouji. Blood began to trickle from his wounds, staining his bright colored outfits with red. Though they were not life-threatening, Harry knew that it must be painful from the tensing of the blond’s body.

“Do you have any last words?” the Investigator leered cruelly.

Harry’s heart thundered inside his chest seeing the sight of the Investigator raising his whip, ready to strike it at Shouji’s head. He’d seen what that whip could do. It won’t just cause him to have some bruise—Shouji will die if that thing hit him.

Shouji cursed, and he yelled at Harry.

“What are you doing, idiot? _Run_!”

Harry’s blood ran cold, he couldn’t hear Shouji’s words at all. The only thing in his mind was the color red—the redness of the whip… the redness of the blood that will be spilled when that red whip made contact with Shouji’s head.

_Is that it? Is he just going to let Shouji be killed without doing anything?_

Suddenly Cedric Diggory’s face flashed in his mind, and he clenched his fists. No. There’s no way in hell that he’ll let anyone lose their lives because of him again!

—The old man swung his whip down.

Then, as if everything was on slow motion, he got to his feet and began to run towards Shouji. The only thing in his head was “ _I have to save him_ ” as he pumped his legs faster, ignoring the blond’s shouts telling him to save himself. Without thinking the repercussions of his actions, he leapt off the ground, and threw a punch at the old man’s face—sending him crashing onto his partner.

All of this happened in a split second.

“Mado-san!” the younger Investigator cried as he caught the old man’s body.

Harry looked at his fist, not expecting himself to have that much power to make a grown man fly like that. He trembled, not wanting to see the state of the Investigator he just punched. He wouldn’t die from just a single punch to the face, right?

Panicking and still filled with adrenaline, he forcefully pried the thing that was trapping Shouji’s body and threw it on the ground. The moment Shouji was free from the trap, he suddenly hoisted Harry and threw him to his shoulder before he jumped to a wall and jumped up again, higher and higher until they were at the roof of the building.

When they finally got it through their head that they have passed the dangers, Shouji suddenly snorted with laughter.

“Oh my god.” Shouji gasped as he leapt off the roof and onto another one. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

“I can’t believe it either.” Harry cringed, all tension leaving his body as they got farther from the Doves. Shouji snickered as he kept jumping from one building to another while he just hung there from the blond’s shoulder looking at the night sky idly. There were no clouds that night, so the stars were fully visible.

It was beautiful.

“Do you think he saw my face?” Harry asked him as he watched the sky.

Shouji shook his head. “I doubt it. It was pretty dark back there. You really need to buy a mask though. If they identified you, you’re done.”

“Hmm.”

There were silence for a while as Shouji continued on jumping from building to building. Harry wondered why the blond hadn’t put him down yet, but it kind of felt nice being carried like that, so he didn’t voice his question.

“You know…” Shouji began quietly. “Thank you, for saving me.”

Harry craned his neck to see the blond’s expression, but from his position he could only see the back of his head. Still, he could clearly see the reddening of the blond’s ears. He sighed softly, a small smile on his lips.

“You protected me too, so we’re even.”

Surprised, Shouji looked back at him, but he had already gone back to gaze at the sky. A smile tugged at Shouji’s lips too, and he hastened his pace.

“Yeah.”

 

 

Shouji dropped him off in front of his apartment and left quickly after telling him to lay low for a while, so it was a very exhausted Harry Potter that stumbled into his dimly lit apartment and squeaked like a mouse as he found his face attacked by white fluff ball that was his best friend, Hedwig.

“Oh! Hedwig!” Harry exclaimed in surprise and joy at the sight of his beloved friend. He let out a breathy laugh and rubbed the owl’s feathers affectionately as the bird answered his greeting with a hoot. “Why are you here? I thought I left you at Ron’s…”

“Sirius brought her here. It seems like she missed you.” A male voice said. He turned to find a familiar werewolf watching them with an amused smile on his scarred face from the living room.

“Professor!” Harry exclaimed in surprise. The man chuckled and waved his hand in the air in a dismissing motion.

“Not professor anymore, Harry. Call me Remus. I believe we have cleared this before?” the older man said lightly as he opened his arms for Harry to hug. Harry took his invitation and wrapped his arms around the man’s body, squeezing tightly for a few seconds as he too was squeezed tight by the man.

“Sorry, habit! What are you doing here, Remus? Where’s Sirius?” Harry looked around, not seeing his godfather around.

“In the kitchen, preparing for your—”

“Birthday cake! Happy Belated Birthday, Harry!” His godfather—complete with an apron and a prettily decorated cake in his hands—appeared suddenly with a crack as he apparated behind him, surprising both him and Hedwig who screeched at the man and tried to peck his eyes. Sirius yelped and tried to evade Hedwig’s attack poorly as he was still holding on the cake. After everything that happened that day, Harry felt that the sight was so ridiculous that he had to laugh.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh at your poor godfather, why don’t you.” The middle-aged man grumbled sulkily, rubbing his stinging cheek from where the owl scratched it.

“It’s totally your own fault for surprising her.” Harry chuckled as he calmed Hedwig down and hugged her like a plush toy. “What did you mean by birthday though?”

“What did I mean by—Harry do you know what date it is? It’s August 2nd! Your birthday had already passed ages ago!” Sirius exclaimed incredulously.

“What? Really?”

Huh. He didn’t notice that.

“Why would I lie about that? You were so busy with your entrance exams that you totally forgot about it. And I was so ready to celebrate too!” Sirius complained. Remus chuckled.

“It’s a good thing that he takes his studies seriously, you know.” The werewolf said, before he frowned and took Harry’s hands. “What happened? You’re covered in dust. And you’re hurt.”

Harry looked at his hands too, just realizing that they were indeed bleeding. He suddenly remembered that he had just survived an encounter with two high-ranking agents of the CCG. Maybe the wounds were from when he was prying that thing that was trapping Shouji. He didn’t feel the pain that time, but now he could feel it stinging faintly.

“Oh yeah… this.” Harry said distractedly. “That reminds me. Siri, I need a mask!”

 

 

The three of them sat at the couch in the living room as Remus cleaned Harry’s wounds with a first-aid kit and Harry explained everything during his stay in Japan to Remus and told both his godfather and the werewolf of the events that transpired on his way back with Shouji.

“So.” Sirius cleared his throat. “You got involved with two high-ranking ghoul investigators on the way and fought them. You were not able to win, but managed to run away?”

“Technically Shouji was the one who fought them. I just punched the old man in the face once before we hightailed out of there, but, uh… yeah?” Harry winced as the werewolf patted the antiseptic-soaked cotton ball on his cut. Harry wondered how did he took all the information so calmly.

“Harry, didn’t you promise me that you wouldn’t do anything to worry me anymore?” Sirius said dangerously.

“Shouji protected me, so I was not in any particular danger. It’s fine. I think I’ve faced more dangerous things during my four years at Hogwarts.” Harry rolled his eyes.

“You know what Harry? I have this urge to just lock you up in the basement of my family home and throw the key away so nothing could endanger you ever again.”

This time it was Remus who rolled his eyes, even as he changed the blood-stained cotton with a new one. “Oh come on, you’re being overly dramatic there aren’t you? Don’t you remember that you did a lot more dangerous stints than Harry do when you’re his age?”

“That’s irrelevant! And why are you taking his side, Remy?”

Harry coughed to hide his amusement at their argument when he finally noticed his hand.

“Oh. I thought that the wounds would be a lot worse than this, seeing how much blood I spilt.”

Remus stopped his banters with the dog animagus too as he examined Harry’s hands closer. Indeed, the cuts on his hands was barely any deeper than paper cuts, yet he needed four cotton balls to clean everything.

“Huh. That _is_ strange.”

Sirius peeked from behind Remus’s back. “Do you think this have something to do with your ghoulish thingy?”

“Maybe?”

Before their eyes, the cuts gradually began to heal—knitting themselves close at a snail’s pace. Harry gaped and rubbed the newly healed skin, feeling the smooth surface under his fingertips without any scar. “That was…”

“Almost like magic, isn’t it?” Remus said, transfixed by the sight. It reminded him so much of his own abilities as a werewolf, yet it was also different. Maybe the theory that ghouls were magical creatures were true after all.

“Yeah…”

“Well, I was only here because Sirius told me about your plan to stay here and went to ask my opinion on your magical education, but I guess I can stay here for a while to help you with this problem.” The werewolf smiled as he began to put away the first-aid kit.

“Help me?” Harry frowned, clutching his hands to his chest. Help him how? He didn’t even know what made him like that, nor if he could ever be normal again.

“Well, I don’t know how to turn you back of course, but until we know what made you like this, we should at least try to find out as much as we can about your condition.” Remus said, reminding Harry of his talk with Sirius several weeks ago. They never did find out anything after that, since he was distracted by the entrance exam right after that.

“But let’s save this talk for tomorrow, shall we? It’s late, and you’re exhausted. Go take a shower and rest, Harry. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

Harry complained at first, but in the end he complied with the werewolf’s suggestion, only after he snagged a piece of the cake first though.

 

 

The first time Harry finally got acquainted with the violent but wonderful person Shouji called “Touka-chan” was when he was walking home after buying groceries, exactly a day after Remus and Sirius went back to their home country.

Truthfully, after the incident several nights ago Harry was quite content with just lounging around in his apartment reading letters from his friends back home and writing back to them, but he had finished everything already and he realized he have to go out to buy groceries sometime if he didn’t want to starve. And so, that day, with a very unwilling mood, he decided to do just that.

As he browsed the supermarket near his apartment, his mind wandered to everything that happened while Remus was living with them these last few days. With the help of the werewolf and animagus, along with the knowledge Harry got from Hermione’s previous lecture, they managed to find quite a lot of things about his condition and how he differed from normal ghouls aside from the fact that he didn’t eat humans.

The first was that while he healed fast, a ghoul’s healing rate was way faster than him. Remus theorized that it was probably due to him not consuming humans—which was the source of Rc cells for ghouls. Since he produced his own Rc cells, his healing rate was slower than them.

The second was that while his skin has become considerably more durable than a human’s, it can still be torn by using normal sharp things like scissors or knives, therefore he should be extra careful not to hurt himself when he was in the company of ghouls lest they became suspicious of him.

The third was that his muscles have become much stronger than before. He can accomplish feats that he couldn’t do before—like jumping from one building to another and running across the streets in several seconds flat, but as he was untrained, he was not that much stronger than Remus who was a werewolf.

If he was ever in danger, it would probably best if he just run away, Remus said. He didn’t have any experience fighting without magic after all. Not to mention that he also still couldn’t utilize his kagune properly. Remus and Sirius never have one in any case, so they also didn’t have any idea what to do to help him ‘master’ his kagune. Remus told him that from the books he found that not all ghouls could use their kagune though so he could probably get away with it if someone asked him why he couldn’t use his, but being able to use his kagune would certainly be a great advantage to him since his kagune-type offered him great defensive capabilities.

Then there’s also the problem of him not having a proper mask. His kagune actually covered the upper half of his face so it’s not a problem if he could materialize his kagune at will, but since he couldn’t a mask was necessary. The problem was he didn’t know where to buy one. Well, he supposed he could just ask Shouji or Koma-san next time he saw them at the café.

Finished with everything he had to buy at the supermarket, he nodded his thanks to the cashier as he exited the store and looked at his many groceries, wondering why did he ended up buying so much things. It was not totally his fault though. Japan have so many fascinating products that he had never seen before.

As he walked back to his apartment though, he saw a familiar face running around the city.

“Oh… she’s the manager’s ward, isn’t she?” Harry spoke to himself, watching as she rushed from one place to another. Her purple-colored hair gleamed beautifully under the sunlight as she flitted through the bustling townspeople—it really catches his eyes that he couldn’t help but notice her. He wondered if she dyed her hair. Ah, but her brother has a similar hair color, right? So it might be hereditary after all.

As he idly wondered about her hair color, she finally noticed him standing around watching her with his bags of groceries.

“You…” The girl said as she approached him, wiping some sweat from her forehead with her jacket sleeves. “You’re that Shitty Fox’s friend.”

 _Shitty Fox?_ Harry wondered with a puzzled expression, before he remembered the shape of a certain ghoul’s mask and he smiled at her uncertainly. “You mean Shouji? Yeah, um… I guess you could say that I’m his friend. You’re Touka-san, right? I’ve seen you running around town before. Is something the matter? Do you need help with anything?”

While she was a bit rude to him the last time they _met,_ she honestly looked so exhausted and lost that he couldn’t help but offer his help to her. It might also be better for him if he forged a good relationship with her too. There’s nothing wrong with having as many allies as you could, right? Ah, but Touka-san seemed like she wouldn’t accept his offer though. She looked too proud to accept any help from a stranger.

True enough, the purple-haired ghoul shook her head sharply at his offer.

“No.” She said firmly. “No, I don’t need your help. Thanks for the offer anyway.”

“Oh…” Well, he kind of knew it already. But at least he already offered his help, right? Harry smiled at her slightly and adjusted his grip on his groceries again, preparing to go back to his apartment. “Alright then. Have a good day, Touka-san.”

Seeing him about to leave, her movement hesitated a bit, before she finally opened her mouth once more.

“Wait…”

Harry turned around to face her again, and he saw the uncertainty in her eyes. In that moment, instead of the proud and strong ghoul he heard about, she became just another lost and vulnerable girl who were in need of a friend to help her go through an ordeal. That weakness was gone in an instant, replaced by renewed determination as her eyes hardened once more.

Harry smiled at her, and decided to listen. “Yeah?”

Touka-san hesitated again, like she didn’t want to ask him for anything, but it seemed like her needs was greater than her pride.

“My… brother.” The girl said finally after hesitating for a few moment. She clenched her hands and repeated her words loudly. “My brother. If you see him, could you tell me?”

Oh, so Shouji was right about this. It seemed like her brother really ran away from home.

Harry frowned a bit. He didn’t have a sibling, so he couldn’t say that he knew what her brother was feeling, but if he had one, he surely would never ran away from home and cause his sibling to worry about him so much. “Sure! What’s his name?”

Touka-san looked relieved when he agreed. “Ayato. He looks a lot like me, but he has messy hair like yours.” She gestured towards her head and make an exaggerated movement to describe his hair.

“Hmm… Ayato-kun, huh? Alright. I’ll tell you if I see him.”

“Thanks.” Touka-san gave her a small smile before she took off again, jumping up to a building and disappeared out of his sight. Harry shook his head slightly. She was truly like a storm, coming and going so strongly and unexpectedly.

Back in his apartment, Harry put his groceries at his kitchen and sighed at the mess his godfather left all around. He picked a few articles of clothes from the sofa and saw Hedwig eating some owl treats on the windowsill. Touka-san’s determined face flashed in his mind, and he smiled.

“What about it, girl? Up to track someone for me?”

 

 

With Hedwig as his guide, Harry ran across the city trying to find Touka-san’s brother. The combined effort between him and his owl led him to a small alley in _Aoyama*_. There was a lone ghoul there, about 20 years of age and looked like a delinquent.

Truthfully, Harry knew that he probably should not get involved too much—talking to strangers were already dangerous as it was, and this stranger was a ghoul too—but something in him somehow guided him to talk to that man. Something that told him that _‘this man will have the answers you seek’_ or something like that, so Harry braved himself and approached the man.

Sure enough, the man responded positively when he told him Ayato-san’s description.

“Oh, I saw someone with that description a few days ago around Omotesando.”

_Bingo!_

“Omotesando? That’s not far…” Harry mused as he tried to picture Tokyo’s map in his head.

“Hm. He was with a really weird person. Really tall, and his hair was all white. I didn’t really see them up close, but I heard them talking something about joining Aogiri Tree.” The ghoul continued, scratching his chin as he tried to remember more details from his memories.

“Aogiri… Tree?” Harry frowned as he rolled the name with his tongue. Somehow, that name rang really wrongly within him, even though Harry didn’t know why. The ghoul nodded easily at him, confirming his concern about the name.

“Yeah. The kid’s a friend of yours? Tough luck, man. There’s all sorts of bad rumors surrounding those guys—I’d stay the hell away from them if I were you. Better not go after him. I heard that they’re completely ruthless to both their enemies and even their own members.”

Apparently finished with everything he had to say, the ghoul moved as if to leave the alley, but before he could take another step Harry caught his sleeve with his fingers, effectively preventing him from leaving.

“Wait! Can you tell me more about this Aogiri Tree?” Harry pushed, trying to find out as much as he could for Touka-san’s sake. He sincerely hoped the man wouldn’t get offended by his pushy attitude. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Hedwig perching herself on top of a street lamp, looking intimidating and ready to strike should the need arise. Harry smiled slightly at the thought—even though she might not be of much help to him if things get dangerous, her sentiment was sweet.

Thankfully the ghoul didn’t look offended, though he did look a little bewildered by his urgency.

“Sure…? I don’t mind telling you, but there’s not much known about them though.” He answered lightly, and Harry thanked him as he let go of the man’s sleeve.

“That’s fine. Anything is appreciated.” Harry insisted, and the man, although skeptical at first wondering what his intention were, relented in the end.

“Well… these are only rumors, but I heard that they’re an organization of ghouls that no one knows what their goals are and… although they’re pretty new, they have begun claiming some districts as their territory.” The ghoul told him. “It also seemed like while they didn’t have much members, the few they do have are extremely powerful. And like I said before, they’re ruthless to both their enemies and even their own members are not completely safe from them—they only see people as ‘useful’ and ‘useless’, it seems. The moment you’re not useful to them anymore…”

 _You’ll be killed._ The ghoul bring his thumb across his neck with a grimace.

“Oh…” Harry frowned. That was really bad, wasn’t it? Why did Ayato-san go with them then, if they’re like that to their own people? He must tell Touka-san about this. “I understand. Thanks for the info, Mister.”

“Hm.” The ghoul nodded his head easily and waved him off. As Harry was about to walk away though, a sudden strong gust of wind suddenly flew by. He yelped and tried to shield his eyes from his own hair when suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him backwards.

“Whoa, what the heck—” he yelled as he tried to balance his feet. He looked up to see the ghoul he was talking with looking at him with a strange look in his eyes. Suddenly wary, Harry tied to back away from him but the man’s hands on his shoulders was strong.

“Wait, aren’t you…” The ghoul began, before he suddenly moved closer and sniffed Harry’s neck deeply. “You smell weird.”

Harry watched him warily as he tensed himself in preparation to flee. “Weird? Weird how…”

_Didn’t this scene seem familiar…_

“Like a… human.” The ghoul continued, licking his lips. He moved closer, and Harry took a step back. “Delicious. I don’t usually eat other ghouls but…”

Damn it! He always has the worst luck, didn’t he?

The ghoul opened his mouth and tried to take a bite out of his neck, but as he was about to punch the ghoul’s face, suddenly the man was thrown off him via a kick to his side and a blur of purple. Someone suddenly landed in front of him, protectively standing to shield him from the ghoul that just tried to eat him.

“Keep your filthy hands off him, you trash!”

The person in front of him growled threateningly.

Honestly, he was kind of expecting Shouji to be the one to come to his rescue, so he was a bit surprised to see that it was Touka-san who was standing in front of him that time.

“Touka-san…!” Harry gasped in surprise. The girl didn’t seem to hear him as she kicked the other ghoul’s stomach harshly, making the ghoul who were still lying on the ground spit out some blood. Harry grimaced, Shouji was absolutely right about her being violent. “Stop! Any more and you’ll kill him! Please!”

He wrapped his arms around her midsection from behind and tried to restrain her. The girl only looked even more pissed as she turned around to face him. “He tried to eat you, you know?”

Seeing her murderous expression, Harry became a bit worried. She wouldn’t start attacking him next, would she? He shook his overactive imagination aside, and tightened his grip on her midsection.

“I know, but… please.” He shot her his most desperate look. Honestly he thought it only made him look pathetic, but it seemed to work on her.

“Hhh. _Fine_!” Touka-san growled in frustration before she stomped her foot down loudly, making the ghoul squeaked in terror. “Scram now before I change my mind!”

The ghoul looked so relieved that he was allowed to leave he almost cried.

“Th-thank you!”

They watched together as the other ghoul falling over his feet trying to run away as fast as possible from Touka-san. It’s kind of amazing, really, how she inspires fear in people though he didn’t think that it was a good thing that she was being so casual towards the act of taking away someone’s life like that.

When the ghoul finally disappeared from their sight, Touka-san let out a loud sigh.

“Are you an idiot or something? I told you to tell me _if_ you see my brother, not to go out to shady places to look for him! Goodness.” The girl said tiredly, rubbing her forehead in exasperation as she slapped his hands away from her stomach. Harry winced and immediately separated himself from her. “No wonder that Shitty Fox and Koma-san both are so worried about you all the time. You’re too careless—no, you’re a trouble magnet!”

Harry could only laugh weakly at that. Hermione often complained the same about him.

“I’m sorry?”

Hearing his unsure apology, the girl could only scowl half-heartedly as she rubbed the back of her head. “Come on, I’ll walk you back to your place.”

As she began to walk away, Harry suddenly remembered the information he got from the ghoul and caught one of her hands in his to prevent her from leaving. “Wait, Touka-san! That guy… he said he saw your brother leaving with someone from Aogiri Tree near Omotesando a few days ago.”

Hearing him mentioning her brother, the purple-haired ghoul stopped in her tracks and turned around dangerously to face him.

“Aogiri… Tree?” she repeated slowly. Hesitating just a little bit, Harry nodded at her and relayed all the information he got from the guy to Touka-san. It was a bit scary as the purple-haired girl was silent as he told her everything and he couldn’t see her reaction as her face was obscured by her hair.

“That’s all I find out from that guy—wait, Touka-san? Where are you going?”

Seeing the girl was about to leave, Harry immediately chased after her and tried to block her way, but the ghoul was harsh as she shoved him away and yelled at him to move. “After them! I’m going to bring his sorry ass back here and teach him a lesson!”

 _Nooo_ … he knew that she would try to go after them, even knowing how dangerous it would be! This was why he didn’t really want to tell her. But Harry guessed that he could understand how she felt. Mostly. If Sirius was ever in danger or about to do stupid things like _joining a dangerous organization,_ he would do everything in his power to stop him too.

But still, he had to discourage her from going.

“No! It’s dangerous! I know you’re strong, but going after them by yourself is too much! And… and I’m sure you know that it’s too late already.” Harry stumbled over his words with hesitation once again, not wanting to shove the cold, harsh truth in her face, but he supposed that it was a necessary evil. It was bad enough that her brother was in danger—he couldn’t let her go to the same danger unprepared and alone. “The guy said he saw them ‘a few days ago’. They must have been long gone by now, Touka-san.”

Hearing his words, her expression hardened and she gritted his teeth in frustration.

“Yeah. Yeah, I _know_. But…” She exhaled shakily and slapped his hand away from her shoulder before she kicked the ground in frustration. “ _Aargh_! Goddamnit! Stupid Ayato! Why is he always, _always_ doing reckless things? Even though we finally had a chance to live peacefully…”

Seeing her venting her frustration like that, Harry could only stand by her side awkwardly—not knowing what to say to make her feel better. He was never good with things concerning emotions, and times like these only make him even more aware of his social stunts.

Shaking his head a little, Harry thought that he should maybe distract her from her anger.

“We should go tell Yoshimura-san about this. I’m sure that he knows what to do to help both you and Ayato-san.” He said hesitantly. Seeing the girl making no response, Harry became worried and tentatively touched her shoulder again. “Touka-san? …Are you okay?”

It seemed like his genuine worry got through her in the end and she smiled back at him.

“Yeah! Yeah I’m fine. Sorry. You’re Harry right? Sorry for only asking you this now.” She asked him with a smile. It was faked, Harry knew. Her expression was too stiff and her eyes weren’t smiling too, but Harry decided not to call her out on it and smiled back at her.

“It’s alright. And, yes, I’m Harry Potter. Nice to be acquainted with you.”

The purple-haired ghoul sighed and inserted her hands into her short pants’ pockets as she begun to stroll out the alley. “You probably already know my name, but… I’m Touka. Kirishima Touka. Thank you for helping me look for my brother, Harry.”

Harry followed her out, with Hedwig flying directly above them. “It’s fine. I didn’t have anything better to do, anyway.”

Lies, actually. He had to tidy up the mess Sirius left behind, but he was procrastinating.

“I see.” Hearing his answers, Touka-san smiled again. “You’re a good person, huh, Harry?”

Heat rose to his face and Harry immediately waved her compliments away. “What? No, no! I’m not that good—”

“—I wish… I wish my brother is more like you.” The ghoul continued quietly before he finished his sentence. “He’s always running around making trouble for everyone, that idiot. He’s so troublesome.”

Harry watched her back from behind as they walked and thought that she looked incredibly lonely. Decorated with the orange colored light from the slowly setting sun, somehow she looked a bit poetic—but it was definitely not a good sight. Compared to this, Harry preferred her violent mood more. At least then she looked like she was _alive_.

“That’s not true. I know you don’t truly wish for that.” Harry smiled and peered to look at her face. Her eyes were a bit red, but thankfully she was not crying. “You actually really love him, don’t you? I can see that you really hold him precious. You’re just a bit frustrated right now.”

The girl gritted her teeth in frustration and brought a hand across her eyes.

“You’re right.” She laughed bitterly. “You’re right—I _am_ frustrated. We finally, finally had a chance to make a clean break from our past… we could finally be able to live like a normal… _human_ … and yet, he threw them all away just for… for what? For something as petty as power?”

She was worried, Harry realized suddenly. She was worried sick that her little brother was going to go get himself killed by involving himself with such dangerous organization, but she didn’t know how to express it really well and so she resorted to being angry and blame him for everything.

It was a bit pitiful how awkward she was with her emotions, but Harry was the same as her too so… he understood.

“Touka-san, I… won’t pretend to know why your brother make the choice he made, but…” Harry looked her in the eyes and clasped both of her hands reassuringly. “Please believe in him. I’m sure that your brother also loves you very much and is doing his best right now to ensure that you’re safe and happy in his own way. His way and choice might be different from yours, but I’m sure everything he’s doing is for you. You’re family, after all.”

“Harry…” The ghoul looked stunned hearing his words, but there were some shines back in her eyes so Harry didn’t think that he was doing too badly at this pep talk thing.

“And I don’t think anyone related to you could be a stupid or weak person, so I’m sure he’ll be okay. I’m sure that one day he’ll come back to you—alive and well—so don’t be so down!” Harry continued. Seeing the confidence back in her eyes, Harry grinned encouragingly. “Okay?”

“Yeah…” She lowered her head with a small smile and held his hands back. “I hope you’re right. Thank you, Harry.”

Success!

Harry’s face burst into a relieved and proud smile, and the ghoul let his hands go with a small laugh. When he looked at her questioningly, she only shook her head and smiled in amusement. “No, it’s just—I finally understand why they got attached to you so fast and so strongly.”

“Huh?”

Still smiling, the purple-haired girl started to walk again, subtly reminding him the orange sky has begun to bleed into the dark blue color of the night.  “You have a comforting presence to you, Harry. And you inspires confidence in someone, just by talking to them.”

Harry gaped at her like she had grown a second head. He was honestly baffled hearing those words directed at him, because he honestly didn’t feel he was like that at all. No, he was not… that amazing.

“That’s… that’s not true. Koma-san said it was because I resembled his deceased brother, and Shouji… he’s just with me because of Koma-san.” Stuttering a bit, he replied her, and yet the ghoul only snorted and punched his arm lightly.

“Give yourself some credit. Koma-san would cry if he heard you saying things like that.”

Harry made a weird face imagining it.

“He _wouldn’t_.”

“Yes he totally would, you know.” Touka-san huffed in amusement at the disbelief in his tone. “He may be really cocky and arrogant at first, but his heart is big and he’s easily touched. Didn’t he cry when you said you’d be his brother?”

Embarrassment crept to his face at her question. Suddenly feeling bashful, Harry rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “You saw that?”

“I do live on the second floor of the café, you know.” The ghoul said, totally enjoying herself with his reactions. Flushing red with embarrassment, Harry eloquently replied: “Oh.”

Chuckling softly, Touka-san put her hands in her pockets and glanced at his face. “You’re different from other people I’ve met until now, Harry.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yes, it’s good.”

“That’s… good then.”

Touka-san snorted and slapped his back hard, almost making him face-planting the ground and knocking the air out of his lungs. “What’s with that half-assed reply? Come on, you spouted all those things to me. Man up a little bit!”

Coughing as he tried to recover, Harry laughed weakly as he inched away from the purple-haired girl.

“You’re a very strong person, Touka-san.” He said, and he meant it not only in the physical sense. It was not only her physique that was strong, but her heart was also very strong. She could stand back up so quickly after breaking down like that—it was an admirable trait.

“Of course. I have to be, to survive in this kind of world.” Touka-san bragged proudly as it was a great accomplishment, but it only served as a reminder of how harsh the world is for their kind.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked—Harry idly noticed that they really _were_ walking towards the direction of his apartment and wondered what the deal was with these ghouls and their needs to escort him home. If anything, he thought he should escort her home since she was a girl and weren’t boys supposed to escort girls to their home or something? Not like she’d need his protection though, she’s far stronger than him.

“I know there’s nothing I could do now. But… as long as he’s useful for them, then at least he’ll be safe, right? That’s enough for me. For now.” Touka-san suddenly said, calling back his wandering mind with a softly murmured admission.

Seeing her clenched fists resting at the side of her body, Harry smiled reassuringly at her and answered confidently: “I’m sure things will get better for you.”

With her eyes a bit wet, she punched his arm lightly. “Thanks.”

“Oh! Come to think of it, Touka-san, do you know where I could buy a mask around here?”

And that emotional moment that marked the start of their friendship was completely ruined when he remembered that he still haven’t buy a mask yet.

 

 

So the day after, to repay him for his help that day Touka-san took him to a mask shop that was owned by Yoshimura-san’s acquaintance. In other words, a ghoul owned that shop. Make sense though, as all ghouls need masks so there’s bound to be a ghoul somewhere out there that would open a shop exclusive for ghouls only. Harry was beginning to dread that all the friends or acquaintances he made in Japan would be ghouls.

Well, at least the shop was located in Shinjuku too, so it was not too far. After all the running he did yesterday looking for Touka-san’s brother, he was still pretty exhausted and was not in the mood to go for a long trip so soon. Thankfully it was only a 30 minutes’ walk from his apartment so his poor legs could take it.

He met Touka-san in the east entrance of Shinjuku Station and from there, they walked to the store together. HySy ArtMask Studio was a suspicious looking store—the masks that were displayed outside of the store was certainly creepy-looking. The masks that were _inside_ of the shop was definitely creepier though, Harry thought as he inched away from a particularly creepy-looking clown mask that was hung conspicuously on the wall.

“Come here, Harry.” Touka-san beckoned him over. She nudged him towards a small, separate section of the store where a working desk full of designs and two chairs stood in the corner.

“Weird. Uta-san said he’ll be here today.” Touka-san frowned when she saw the room empty.

“Maybe he went out to get something to eat?” Harry suggested.

“Nah. He wouldn’t hunt when the sun’s still out.” The girl said before she fished her phone from her pocket. “I’ll try calling him first— wait Harry, behind you—”

Harry whirled around to find a – a ghost? Whatever it was it was _terrifying_ _oh my god_ – behind him. His heart felt like it had jumped up and clogged his throat with how he was unable to breathe from the shock, but his reflexes still worked and before he even realized what he was doing, his fist has already shot up and punched the ghost-like figure in the face.

 _Crack_ —

The ghost’s face cracked under his fist and the ghost let out a small sound of pain and surprise that sounded like surprised ‘ _mmph_ ’, but otherwise it didn’t budge. It was then he realized that it was not a ghost but a person wearing a mask and he just _punched_ him oh Merlin—

“—I’m _so sorry_ are you okay?” He burst out in panic, fluttering near the man anxiously.

The mask crumbled, revealing a fairly handsome face with black sclera a bloody nose.

“It’s okay, I think you only broke my nose.” The man with the undercut said easily, his tone friendly but somehow flat. Harry could only stutter in panic, not knowing what he should do as he watched more and more blood came dripping from his nostrils.

“What are you doing, Uta-san?” Touka-san sighed exasperatedly. “And Harry, stop panicking, he’s fine. It’s his fault he pulled something like that on you anyway.”

“I wanted to see how he’d react if I scare him…” The man, apparently the artist who made all those creepy yet very high-quality, intricate masks, trailed off. Harry was worried that he broke the man’s facial muscles too when he broke his nose, as the man’s expression were constantly flat throughout their exchanges.

Noticing the worry in his eyes, Uta-san placed a hand on his bird nest of a hair and ruffled it softly.

“It’s fine. It’ll heal in a little while.” The man said as he set his broken nose straight with his thumb and forefinger before he rummaged his desk for a handkerchief and wiped the blood clean from his face. “Sorry for scaring you. I’m Uta.”

“It’s… okay. I’m sorry for breaking your nose too.” Harry said hesitantly. Uta-san nodded and tried to sniff him, an action which he dodged instinctively. What was with these ghouls and their hobbies in sniffing him?

“Oh. Sorry. You smell like a human so I was making sure.” Uta-san hummed and motioned him to a chair. “Sit down, I’m going to measure you.”

As he sat down on the chair opposite to the mask maker, Touka-san leaned down and sniffed him too. “It’s true though. You stink, Harry.”

Laughing awkwardly, Harry decided to answer them with the truth. “Well, my godfather is a human and I hung around him a lot, so I guess his scent got mixed with mine?”

Touka-san looked like she wanted to voice her disapproval of him hanging around a human, but then she paused as if remembering something and turned her face away with a click of her tongue. Preoccupied with trying to analyze her reaction, Harry was thoroughly surprised by the hand that suddenly took hold of his jaw and turning his face toward the artist.

“Hmm.” Uta-san hummed again as he examined his face very thoroughly and up close. Harry honestly felt very intimidated by this action but there was nothing he could do but endure. Suddenly, Uta-san pulled back and patted his cheeks. Bewildered, Harry could only use his eyes to ask Touka-san for help. The girl avoided his gaze expertly as she tried to hide her upturned lips.

Harry gasped inwardly.

Traitor!

“You’re cute.” The artist said suddenly. Then he ruffled his hair roughly, making him yelp in surprise. “So _fluffy_.”

“Uta-san!” Harry yelped, trying to evade the artist’s bigger hands.

“Ah. I got carried away.” The older man let go of his head as suddenly as he manhandled it. “Right. A few questions first. Do you have any allergies to rubber or metal?”

Trying to fix his hair, Harry mumbled sulkily. “Not that I know of…”

“Hmm…”

There were a lot of scratching sounds as the artist write his answers on a blank sheet of post-it paper with a well-used pencil. The artist then paused and scratched his head with the pencil, deep in thought.

“You’ve had masks before right? Do you want a full faced one or half face this time?” he asked finally.

“I think a full faced one is safer.” Harry answered thoughtfully.

 _Scratch_.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Blush crept to Harry’s cheeks at that unexpected question. “No, I never had one before.”

The artist made a sound of acknowledgement as he wrote down his answer again.

“What about a crush? Anyone catches your attention right now?”

 _What does these questions had to do with making a mask?_ Harry thought, but he still answered them seriously. He had a bit of a—okay, a _major—_ crush for Cho Chang last year, but he didn’t think he still liked her right now. It would be disrespectful to Diggory too, he thought glumly.

“No. There’s no one I like right now.”

_Scribble._

“Do you have anything you like?”

“Um… not really.” Harry frowned, before he gasped as he remembered that he do have something he liked. “Oh! There’s this photo album of my parents and my dad’s cloak that are really precious to me.”

“Hmm.” The artist jotted down his answer again _._

“What about animals?”

“I liked owl, I have one as a pet and friend. She’s very smart! And I liked dogs too, I guess, although they’re very annoying.” He added with a fond smile, thinking of Sirius.

This time after scribbling some more notes on his papers, Uta-san stood up and took a ribbon measuring tape before he entwined it around his head. Honestly he didn’t see how this would help him measure his face, but he didn’t dare ask. He wasn’t the artist here after all.

Uta-san then untangled the ribbons from his head and began to measure his face properly. Apparently, the act from before was just a joke.

…

He didn’t understand this man.

“Okay, I’m done. I’ll tell you when the mask is done.”

With that, both Touka-san and Harry were promptly shooed out of the store as the artist begun to design the best mask that suited him. Outside of the shop, Harry looked at the thoroughly entertained purple-haired girl and eloquently put his thoughts to words: “What.”

The girl sniggered and put her hands back in her pockets. “I know, right? But he’s a nice person.”

“Yeah. I guess he is.” Although the hair-ruffling was troublesome, he rather enjoyed the strange mask maker’s presence. “Thank you for accompanying me today.”

The girl shook her head as they walked back towards the station. “Nah, it’s fine. I had fun seeing you getting terrorized by Uta-san.”

Laughing awkwardly at her response, Harry suddenly remembered something. “Oh, that’s right. Touka-san? What did Yoshimura-san said about your brother?”

There was suddenly a drop in temperature around them as Touka-san’s shoulders tightened at his question. Harry thought that she would disregard his enquiry as silence followed for a while, but then with a defeated smile.

“He said I shouldn’t go after him.” She said quietly. “And that Ayato had made his bed so he had to lie on it.”

It was pretty sure from the tone of her voice that she disapproved of her guardian’s opinion of this matter and was pretty disappointed at him, but she was resigned. Harry nudged her side with an encouraging smile and she shoved him back with twice the strength, almost sending him crashing to a telephone pole.

Down or not, she was still very violent and strong.

“You’re kinda amazing though. Uta-san is very good at fighting, and even though you’re untrained you managed to hit him.” Touka-san said suddenly, swiftly switching the topic of their conversation to one that was not so depressing and revolving around her, but it only made Harry’s heart skipped a beat.

“How do you know I’m untrained?” He asked her warily. Trying to bluff.

He failed, obviously.                                                                                                              

“Oh _please_ , anyone with an eye could tell at first glance that you could tell that you’ve never been in a fight before. Even that Idiot Fox must have realized this by now.” The girl scoffed.

Harry grimaced. Was he really that obvious?

Harry had fought before of course—he dueled plenty of times and he had beaten many dangerous creatures during his four years at Hogwarts, but those were all magical fights. He had good reflexes and he done a lot of dodging and running when he dueled, but a ghoul’s fight was much more physically oriented that just a couple of running and jumping around.

It became painfully obvious to him that he was _weak_ after he saw Shouji fighting the Investigators from before. Shouji kept protecting him—he even got hurt in the process. And Touka-san too. It might only be a coincidence that she found him when she did, but she still came to his defense and protected him from that ghoul in that alley. They knew that he was weak and so they protected him. Not to mention that his weakness made a lot of people worry about him. Sirius, Remus, Koma-san… his friends.

Could he let things go on like this?

Determined, he pulled Touka-san’s hand and looked her in the eyes.

“Touka-san, I have a favor to ask you.”

And so, Harry got himself a self-defense tutor.

 

 

Touka-san was a harsh taskmistress, but she was fair and the exercises they did together was fun. She only taught him how to fight hand-to-hand once a week, but assigned him a training regime that he must complete every morning. He learned a lot from the purple-haired ghoul. After each of their training session, he felt like he could move more efficiently than before though he still couldn’t land a hit on her, but at least he could dodge her punches now.

The location of their training sessions was pretty amazing though. Harry never knew that underneath Anteiku—underneath the entire Tokyo—was an underground maze. It was fascinating.

When he wasn’t training with Touka-san, Harry asked Shouji to tutor him some more to prepare himself for his upcoming term. Social studies, mathematics, and science still makes no sense to him, even though he got pretty high score in the entrance test before. Shouji was eager to help him as he was even more attached to him now after their encounter with the Doves, and so they met up at Anteiku twice a week for a tutoring session.

It was exhausting, but he definitely had fun.

Hermione probably would get a heart attack if she knew how much he was studying and taking his education seriously here, then she’d proceed to smacking his head with a book while berating him for not doing the same when he was still in Hogwarts. Ron would probably be more than a little bewildered and told him that he had lost his mind.

Thinking of them brought a smile to his lips. He would miss them, _so much._ He hoped they would understand his reasoning even though he didn’t tell them in person.

Uta-san came to visit them at the small coffee shop on the 25th day of August to deliver his mask. For some odd coincidence, everyone sans Irimi-san (because it was not her work day) was there at the shop, and so they joined him in his anticipation to see what the mask would look like as he unwrapped the neatly wrapped box that Uta-san handed him.

Harry thought it was a bit intimidating how all the ghouls in the room was staring at him in anticipation, but when he finally took the mask from he was kind of pleasantly surprised.

The mask Uta-san deemed fit for him was a deer mask, apparently. There were even the deer-horns attached on top of the mask in a lovely shade of ivory.

The mask itself was pretty plain although pretty large. It was pristine white in color and oval in shape, and from the middle of the mask the round shape narrowed down to a pointy shape for the chin. There were two black circles that looked like eyes and two sloppy lines made with red paint smeared underneath each ‘eyes’.

All in all, it looked pretty—

“—Cute.” Touka-san commented, aptly putting Harry’s opinion to words as she draped an arm over Harry’s shoulder and looked closely at the simple but elegant design of the mask.

“Why a deer though?” Harry curiously asked the mask maker, feeling like it was too much of a coincidence that the man choose a deer for him.

The artist tilted his head and patted his head softly.

“It seemed like it suits you.” Uta-san said, gracing him with a rare smile. A very small, barely unnoticeable smile, but still a smile all the same. It was a bit shocking since the man looked like he was not capable of doing any sort of facial expression.

“Thank you.” Harry told Uta-san honestly, feeling a little warm from the older man’s words. Those words felt like compliments to him even though Harry knew pretty sure that Uta-san didn’t mean it that way. “I don’t bring any money with me right now though…”

“It’s fine. You could pay another day. I just wanted to see if it suits you.” The artist said, urging him to try on the mask.

Harry looked at the mask, noting the lack of fastener there and wondered how could it stay on his head with nothing to hook it on, but he decided to stop questioning the mask maker’s logic and put it on his head. As expected, the mask felt snug on his head and stayed on undisturbed even if he moved around.

“Oh! It was a bit like my mask!” Shouji exclaimed, pointing out how his mouth was still visible even with the mask on. “It’s really good. It looks great on you.”

“Yeah.” Harry smiled at the mask-maker. “I really like it. Thank you, Uta-san.”

Another pat to his head, and the man left just like that.

Harry’s days continued on with the same routine as he waited for Hedwig to come back with the reply to his letters from his friends back home, and before he knew it, September 1st—the beginning of the second term for the Junior High section of Seinan Academy—had arrived.

_Urgh._

“The uniform looks good on you.” Koma-san said, setting a cup of coffee in front of him. Harry didn’t register the man’s compliment though, too busy hating himself as he shoved his face into the palm of his hands. Puzzled at his reaction, the waiter continued with a question. “So, how’s your first day at school?”

“Terrible!” He cried miserably. Across him, Touka-san and Shouji raised an eyebrow at him as they took a sip from their own cups. “The welcoming ceremony was the most mind-numbing 30 minutes of my life, and… and I humiliated myself by saying「私はHarryと思います」 instead of「私はHarryと申します」when the teacher asked me to introduce myself in front of the class.” *

He moaned into his hands as he remembered the incident and curled tighter into himself. He never could handle nervousness well and ended up making a fool of himself in front of his entire classmates. What a great start of his normal Junior High School life.

He was a bit tempted to give the damned blond ghoul the finger when he heard him choke on his coffee laughing at his expense, but he was too miserable to do it.

Koma-san slapped the back of Shouji’s head for laughing too loudly and ungracefully. Served him right, the insensitive prick.

“What? Koma-san! You can’t deny that it was funny!” the blond protested as he rubbed his head, deflating instantly after the waiter sent him a _look_.

“Well, they’d understand. You’re a foreign student after all, you’re bound to make some mistakes.” Koma-san said, lips twitching upward even as he tried to hide his own hilarity at Harry’s situation. He failed though. Honestly Harry didn’t think he was trying that hard in the first place.

“Fine. Laugh at me then. See if I care.” He grumbled sulkily.

Touka-san only snorted in response to that and flicked his forehead with a loud smack. “Stop being a drama queen. Just smack them if they make fun of you in the future.”

“No violence allowed at school, Touka-san.” Harry murmured sullenly, rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers to ease the pain that the purple-haired ghoul inflicted on him.

They bantered back and forth and almost started a food fight before Yoshimura-san sent Koma-san to discipline them, and Koma-san’s idea to discipline someone was a smack on top of the head with his serving tray. Even Harry didn’t manage to get out of that one, unfortunately.

After that, days come and go with the same routine. Harry hung out with Shouji and Touka-san mostly in Anteiku where he could pay a visit to Koma-san also. It was a bit amusing to see Shouji and Touka-san bickering every time they met too, although he knew that their arguments was not based on dislike. It was more like a habit for them by now.

He haven’t figured out the reason Shouji hated humans so much though, even though they spend so much time together lately. Harry thought, maybe if he went to the roots of the problem then he’d be able to help him and change the blond’s opinion, but so far he still didn’t have any luck.

Harry also still haven’t had an opportunity to talk and get closer to Yoshimura-san beyond a few greet words after their talk all those weeks ago. Harry wasn’t really sure what he felt about the older man, even though he knew the old man was a genuinely good person. He reminded Harry a lot of Professor Dumbledore actually—just… a more closed off version of his old headmaster. The man was just too… cold? Distant? Was that the word? Harry didn’t know, but it made him a bit uncomfortable.

After he got his mask from Uta-san, he brought it everywhere with him although he had never found the opportunity to use it. Actually, no, scratch that. He didn’t want the opportunity to use it to present itself to him. Ever. He rather liked his peaceful days, thank you very much. He still train with Touka-san to prepare himself for when his luck ran out though.

Sometimes, Shouji joins in to give him a few pointers and the experience of fighting another person beside Touka-san. Shouji was actually pretty casual when it was finally revealed openly that Harry couldn’t fight, telling him that he didn’t harm his friends so he didn’t need to worry.

He actually offered to pay both Shouji and Touka-san for being his tutors, but they refused as they’re helping him because he’s their friends, not for any form of compensation. Harry was honestly really touched by their sincerity and good hearts.

Speaking of training, during one of his session with the purple-haired girl, he confessed to her that he had trouble controlling his kagune and they tend to pop out at the most inconvenient occasions. Touka-san understood how it was a problem to him and promised to go get him some help. The help she promised him came in the shape of a gray-haired man who the girl introduced as Yomo-san.

Yomo-san told both Touka-san and Harry that the best way to be able to use his kagune at will was to familiarize himself with the feeling of the kagune coming out of his skin over and over again, and how to familiarize him with the feeling was though… violence. Actually, it was through the feeling of being in danger, but to create that dangerous situation for him both ghouls had to gang up on him and beat him up until he managed to get his kagune out.

Touka-san faltered with her attacks the first time he managed to do it in front of her. Yomo-san also looked at him contemplatively after that. It was unsettling. When he asked her why she looked upset, she only smiled and evaded his question as she congratulated him, telling him that she was going to work him harder after that.

Harry tried to not think about their reactions too much, but it was hard to forget the way they looked at him that time.

At school, Harry found himself surprisingly popular with his year mates—and it didn’t have anything to do with his status as The-Boy-Who-Lived for once.

Despite his disastrous introduction to them, they were pretty understanding, friendly, really helpful, and (somehow) were attracted to him like moths were to fire for some reason he didn’t understand. Maybe it was because he was a foreigner and they were curious about him. The girls in his class especially, they loved to play with his hair and touch his skin, telling him how jealous they were of its paleness.

Harry actually frowned a bit at that, noticing just how pale he had become since he came to Japan. He actually rather liked the golden hue his skin used to have, but he supposed that it couldn’t be helped since he spent most of his times in his apartment, in the café studying with Shouji, and in the underground with Touka-san.

He joined the basketball club because he missed playing a team oriented sport and the fencing club because he was curious of the art but those were indoor sports too. He didn’t really mind though as they were fun. It was convenient that both clubs didn’t meet up at the same days, so Harry could attend both without missing the other. He only showed up at his clubs once a week for each club though, as he still have his tutoring session with Shouji and his training session with Touka-san.

Then Saturdays, Remus and Sirius came to check up him as well as to help him catch up with his magical education. They said that he’d be able to take his OWLs and NEWTs even if he didn’t attend a magical school, so he should work on that. On Sundays he slept in to rest to replenish his energy. Though very exhausting, his days were also very fulfilling.

 

 

Before he knew it, it was already October.

It had been only one month, yet Harry felt like he had been living there for years. And up until that day, the reply to his letter still haven’t come yet. Harry seriously think that he might need to go back home for a few days to grovel at his best friends’ feet for forgiveness because the anxiety he felt was seriously killing him but he couldn’t do that now because the midterm exams were in two weeks and his school’s cultural festival was going to be held at the end of the month.

That’s right. Cultural festival.

The event that he was waiting for.

Despite being very different than normal schools in almost every aspect, the prestigious Seinan Academy too held their cultural festival in October and the teachers gave them all month to prepare for this event. Ideas were gathered and voted for, and in the end, they picked out the most absurd idea that was submitted for their class’ display.

It was chaos in his class more often than not lately because of the festival preparation, but it was somewhat calming to see his classmates bickering for the best of the class— _he really did miss Hermione and Ron_ —and he enjoyed being a part of that too. The preparation was only interrupted by the midterm exam which took only five days.

Five days of pure hell.

But surprisingly or not surprisingly, Harry did great on them. The result of his lessons with Shouji has finally shown itself.  Harry didn’t know how Shouji did it—he was really _bad_ at studying that even Hermione sometimes gave up on trying to get him to study because it wouldn’t make a difference if he did or not.

After the very exhausting exams, the preparation for the festival continued on smoothly. Properties were made, decorations were arranged beautifully in their class, costumes were made and fitted, and everything was made in order to make their class’ presentation the best of the entire school.

Harry had never done anything like this before, and it was honestly really fun. Not only was he looking forward to the event itself, it felt like everyone had gotten closer with each other because of it. If only Hogwarts did something like this too, maybe the relationships between the four Houses will be a bit better. But maybe not. Slytherins were just plain annoying and unlikeable at times.

Before long it was two days before the long awaited event and everyone were at their busiest point then. And so, that day he went home late at night during the rush hours of Japan for the first time since he begun to live in the country and truth to be told it was a rather terrifying experience. There were literally so many people in the train that he thought he was going to be crushed to death and it was so ridiculously crowded that the station attendant had to push him and the other passengers to stuff them inside the car—he was currently having his face pressed onto the train’s window by other passengers who were just as squished as he was.

He had heard that rush hours in Japan were vicious, but he didn’t know that it was _this_ vicious.

Harry pressed himself closer to the thick glass of the window, praying that the ride will be over soon because he couldn’t breathe and the bag of the person behind him was poking his lower back uncomfortably.

…wait.

That was not a bag.

Was this asshole rubbing his dick on him?

_Oh my god he was._

What should he do? He had read somewhere that _this_ was a normal occurrence in the Japanese’s daily life and that usually no one really cared enough to help the victims. Even the victims usually just bear the treatment silently or in the rare case they reported it to the train attendant, the molester was usually just reprimanded and that’s it.

Asking for help would only serve to humiliate him if no one was going to help him. Should he just reach out behind his back, grab his balls and crush it to make him stop? No wait, isn’t that’s too violent, Harry! You definitely have been spending far too much time in Touka-san’s company. But that should be a proper reaction to being molested right?

As Harry tried to think of the proper way to react to the offense done to his person, the asshole pressed him closer and put both his hands on the car’s window, effectively trapping him in that position as the man grinded his hips discreetly against his behind.

Righteous anger flooded Harry’s heart. The—the nerve of this asshole!

He tried to turn around, determined to beat the shit out of the man, but found that the train car was too packed to be able to move even an inch. Bastard! He must have done this often enough to known that this would happen. That his victims wouldn’t be able to fight back.

Indignant, Harry silently fumed as he plotted the man’s demise inside his head.

Just wait until they reached the station and the door opened. He’ll drag him out and beat his ass until he was half-dead. He might not be as good as Touka-san or the others, but he was still a lot stronger than normal humans and he would make it so the asshole would still feel his fist’s imprints on his body for the next three weeks.

To his relieve the door in front of him suddenly opened. They had reached the station while he was plotting his revenge. Finally!

Harry wasted no time rushing out of the train car and he immediately turned around to search for the asshole molester, but the guy was gone. There were no traces of him of ever being there at all. Harry seethed at the cowardly move of the bastard, but there were nothing else he could do about it, so he went to the restroom to check and cleanse his uniform’s blazer from the filth of the molester.

_Urgh. Disgusting. Don’t tell me he was rubbing his dick directly on to him._

Harry fumed as he found the deep green fabric of his uniform stained by a little patch of some kind of liquid. Taking it off immediately, Harry contemplated whether he should wash it or just throw it away. In the end, he decided to throw it and buy a new one. It’s not like he couldn’t afford another set of uniform. He’s been saving the money Sirius sent him every month after all.

As he washed his hands grumbling about perverted monkeys and why they should all be burning in hell, a man wearing a business suit entered the restroom. He looked like a normal salary-man so at first Harry didn’t pay any attention to the man, until from the reflection in the mirror Harry saw the man locking the door behind him.

_What the hell?_

Before he could react, the man bend him over the sink and wrapped his arms around him from behind. Something clicked in Harry’s head, and he realized that this person was the molester from before.

As those hands ripped his shirt and moved to unbuckle his belt, Harry pushed himself from the sink suddenly, surprising the molester with his sudden bout of strength. Turning around, he launched a kick to the man’s midsection—a trick he learned from fighting Touka-san so many times before. The man flew and crashed onto one of the toilet stall.

A pained groan escaped the man and Harry almost smirked at that. Rolling up his sleeves, Harry took a ‘caution wet floor’ sign and was about to slam it down to the man’s body when he heard several panicked voices from outside the door.

“…in here, Mr. Policeman! We saw that man enter this door and locked it!”

“There were some loud sounds coming from inside too, please hurry!”

The doorknob rattled and suddenly the door was slammed open. In the doorway, Harry saw two polices staring at him with open mouths. Harry froze in his place, the big yellow sign still held above his head in a position ready to strike the man on the ground who were clutching his ribs.

No one spoke as they observed the scene speechlessly.

“Oh!” Harry blushed and lowered his weapon. “No, no. I’m not… I mean, this man is—”

One of the policeman finally regained his composures and smiled reassuringly at him as he motioned for his partner to apprehend the molester. “It’s okay, young man. These guys told us what happened. They were in the same car as you and saw what this man did. It’s good that you managed to hold him off before anything bad happened.”

“Oh…” Relieved and somewhat confused by the turn of event, Harry glanced at the guys the policeman mentioned. A dyed blond-haired person and a black haired one stood outside the restroom, the former looking at him with hilarity and awe while the latter peered inside with amazement and concern. Both of them looked older than him and were wearing some high-school’s uniforms.

“Man, we totally didn’t see that coming!” The blond-haired one said, grinning widely. “That was awesome. You looked frail and weak—”

“ _Hide_!” the other hissed, horrified that his friend could be so untactful.

“—so this guy here was really concerned when he saw you being followed. But turns out that you didn’t need our help, huh?” he finished. The black-haired one elbowed the other’s waist harshly and stepped in.

“We actually wanted to help you earlier during the train ride too, but we couldn’t move because the car was too packed. S-sorry.” The black-haired one stuttered an apology, and Harry didn’t understand why he was apologizing when he’s done nothing wrong.

“No, please don’t apologize! If anything, it’s the asshole’s fault for doing something like that in the first place.” Harry said, waving off his embarrassment at being seen in such a pathetic state. “But… thank you for coming when you did. If you didn’t, probably _I_ would be in trouble with the police now for excessive… self-defense…”

Harry trailed off awkwardly, feeling very much like he just said something very wrong.

“Uh, if you’re done chatting, could you accompany us to the station?” The policeman from before approached him.

Harry suddenly looked concerned.

“Am I in trouble?” _Did he use too much force after all?_

“Very nearly, but nope. We just need you to give your statements, that’s all.” The officer grinned wryly.

Relieved, Harry bowed his thanks again to both boys and proceeded to follow the policeman out of the restroom, the other policeman already waiting for them as he gripped on the molester’s cuffed arms tightly to make sure he wouldn’t be able to run away. Before he could take one step though, his left arm was suddenly grabbed by the black-haired person.

“W-wait, um…” the older boy stuttered nervously.

Confused, Harry tilted his head and smiled at him to encourage him say what was on his mind. The blond-haired one too was watching them with amused eyes as he stood by the other, encouraging him silently. It was really sweet. They must be really close.

“Your clothes…” The older boy finally opened his mouth and motioned to his shirt. “It’s… it’s ruined.”

Harry looked down. Oh, that’s right. It was ripped and he lost quite a few buttons.

“H-here.” The black-haired boy pulled off the dark blue jumper he was wearing and handed it to him. Harry looked at the older boy’s eyes in askance and the boy gave him an unsure smile, but somehow to him that smile looked so bright and dazzling. His features were really nice—especially those gray eyes—and the smile only enhanced them.

“Please wear this. It would be bad if you caught a cold tonight.” The smile grew more honest as he expressed his concern, and Harry’s heart skipped a beat. Cheeks suddenly warm, Harry accepted the offered jumper and stuttered a grateful word to him before he dashed out after the policeman.

Confused, Harry glanced down where his heart was beating fast inside his chest.

“What is this feeling?” he murmured, before a realization came to him. Didn’t he feel this way last year around Cho Chang too?

_Wait a minute…_

“Oh.” Harry finally get it. “ _Oh no_.”

Groaning in exasperation and embarrassment, he put his face on his hands and berated himself.

He couldn’t believe it.

He just developed a crush on a stranger.

**Next Chapter: Flutter**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*The quinque Mado Kureo used to trap Shouji is the one he used in the anime during the investigation of Case No. 696 a.k.a. Fueguchi Asaki._
> 
>  
> 
> *Harry’s apartment is in 4th ward (Shinjuku-ku) which is a near uninhabitable ward for ghouls. HySy ArtMask Studio is also in 4th ward. Aoyama and Omotesando is in 3rd ward (Minato-ku). Anteiku is in 20th ward (Nerima-ku) which is near 4th ward and that’s why Harry able to visit so often.
> 
> * 私はHarryと思います (watashi wa Harry to omoimasu) means “I think (or alternatively, in my opinion) I am Harry”.
> 
> *私はHarryと申します (watashi wa Harry to moushimasu) means “My name is Harry”.
> 
> IT’S DONE IT’S FINALLY DONE. FINALLY. I’m so tired.
> 
> So if you’re wondering why this chapter is so late, it’s because my phone, where I wrote my plans and drafts for this story, was stolen and it caused me to lose motivation for a while. When I finally got the mood to write again, I was completely unhappy with the second-half of the last chapter that I split, and ended up completely rewriting all of them and creating this monster. Well… that, and I was consumed by the wonderfully painful series that is Pandora Hearts.
> 
> (SeriouslythoughIcriedlikeababyduringsomepartsoftheseries)
> 
> (AndbysomepartsImeanthELASTEIGHTVOLUMESSERIOUSLYWHATTHEFUCKMOCHIZUKI)
> 
> Ehem.
> 
> So.
> 
> This is positively the longest chapter I’ve ever written. Don’t expect that all future chapters will be this long because it’s very tiring.
> 
> Most of the chapters up until now are fillers. Necessary fillers that introduces a lot of the characters that will (probably) appear a lot in this story, but still not the main dish. We will be entering the main plot in a little while though as Kaneki-kyun have finally appeared in the story. Even though only for a tiny bit at the end of the chapter pft /flees
> 
> Also, regarding my statement the last chapter lol. So many of you expressed your concerns either via review or pm. I’ll say this here to clear it: no the pairings here are not pairings so rare and ridiculous you’d want to stab me, but rather—there will be so many characters (that most of you loved) that have one sided loves towards another character.
> 
>  
> 
> _So many._
> 
>  
> 
> Well, no. Actually only about five pairings, but you get the point. And out of all these one sided loves, only one will gradually (and I mean _gradually_ ) be reciprocated. I have actually revealed two of the pairings if you read carefully. I’m not even being subtle about it.
> 
> Okay, to end this long ass author’s note, I want you all to be careful with what you eat okay? No matter if you’re tight on budget or what—try to eat healthily. Or you’re going to be bedridden for seven days suffering from high fever because of throat infection like me.
> 
> If you cannot picture how Harry’s mask looked like, think Houdzuki-gami’s mask (Natsume Yuujinchou) without the coronet of peonies and veils. Also, a deer supposedly means gentleness, the ability to move through life and obstacles with grace, being in touch with inner child (innocence), being sensitive and intuitive, the ability to be vigilant, move quickly, and trust their instincts to get out the trickiest situations, the ability to change directions quickly (flexibility), magical ability to regenerate, being in touch with life’s mysteries, and idealism. I think that’s very Harry-like.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Let’s all pray together that I won’t take as long on the next chapter.


	5. Flutter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this chapter I want to clarify some things though, since apparently this is still not clear to some of you?
> 
> 1\. **Harry is not a ghoul!** He do not get sick when eating normal food. He’s, you know. Like Haise’s children? What are they called again? Quinx? Quinckes? Ishida’s victims?  
>  2\. **Harry still have his magic!** He do not quit being a wizard just because he can do weird things with his body now. He’s just underage so he doesn’t use it much except during his lessons.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for everyone who read, reviewed, commented, and left this story some kudos! I love you all!
> 
> **Warning:** Cliché. _Reeeally_ cliché. There’re probably many mistakes and plot holes too but I don’t care about those lol.

“Good afternoon, Harry-kun. The usual?” Koma-san greeted him from behind the counter as he entered the warm coffee shop. Harry nodded tiredly and eyed the table his blond ghoul-friend occupied, a bit surprised for once the blond was looking serious as he hunched over the table reading some thick book that looked really difficult.

“Yes, please, Koma-san. Can you make it extra strong, please? I’m really tired today, I think I can use the extra caffeine.” Harry smiled at the waiter who frowned and gave him a look as he sat in front of Shouji.

“Sure, I’ll make it extra strong for you. Are you okay though? You really look tired.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just lack of sleep, Koma-san.” He reassured the older man.

“Up playing games all night?” Shouji asked him, looking up from his book to smirk at him. Harry crossed his arms and huffed at the blond.

“I did not. The police were holding me up until late last night, so when I got home it was like 12 and then I couldn’t sleep because it’s past my bedtime. Then at school our class leader had us working like a slave to make sure everything is ready and perfect for tomorrow’s event. It was really hectic.”

Harry complained, before he snatched the book Shouji had in front of him and gaped. It was in English, yet he couldn’t understand what it said. He continued to gape at the book, horrified at its content and not realizing that both Shouji and Koma-san was sharing alarmed look together.

“What’s with this book? Even _I_ don’t understand it and I’m _English_!”

“You do realize that middle school level materials and college level materials are completely different right?” Shouji huffed and snatched back his book. “What do you mean about the police holding you up though? Harry, did you get in trouble?”

Hearing the serious tone of Shouji’s voice, Harry blinked in confusion before he realized that once again his tongue had slipped and he just revealed something that he’d rather kept secret from his friends.

“Aha…ha… did I say police? You must have misheard me, Shouji. I clearly said _classmates_ there. Yup.” Harry laughed awkwardly and the blond pinned him with an unimpressed stare. Damnit, why couldn’t he be born with a more believable lying skill?

“…They don’t even sound similar, Harry. Try again.”

“…Tourists?” Harry asked the blond unsurely, looking at his entwined hands to evade their suspicion as cold sweat began to gather in his forehead.

“Why would a tourist even hold you up until late night?” Shouji stared at him in disbelieve. “You’re an unconvincing liar, Harry. Stop evading and answer my question honestly. Did you do anything that pulled the police’s attention to you?”

This time, Harry caught the slight hint of worry in the older man’s voice and he stilled as he realized what the blond meant.

“No, no! Don’t worry! I didn’t do anything that might expose me as…” Harry trailed off and blushed, waving his hands in front of him. “It’s because of another reason. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Then why are you being held up?” Koma-san asked him with a frown.

“It’s…” Harry paused and bit his lower lip. “I lost my wallet on my way home?”

“ _Harry-kun_.”

“It’s nothing, really!” Harry insisted, panicking under the waiter’s intimidating eyes. He knew they would probably overreact if he told them the truth so he tried to convince them that nothing was wrong, but the demanding gazes both Koma-san and Shouji were giving him were honestly very scary. Harry was worried if he didn’t succeed to change the topic soon he might give in and told them everything.

Suddenly a ringing sound of a small bell rang from the entryway, signaling the entrance of a customer. The three of them glanced towards the door and found Touka-san striding in as she tossed her uniform’s blazer on her shoulder and loosened the red ribbon around her neck with a scowl. She took notice of the three of them and approached, the scowl gradually disappearing from her pretty face.

“Oh. Why are you crowding like that?” The only girl asked as she walked towards them.

“Touka-chan! Good timing.” Koma-san said, as he ushered the girl to sit in front of him and Shouji. Harry gave Koma-san a wary look as the man continued on. “We’re trying to make Harry tell us why he got involved with a police officer last night, but he wouldn’t give in.”

The girl raised her visible eyebrow at him, making him uncomfortable with her attention. “A police officer?”

“I didn’t do anything stupid, I swear!” Harry shook his head in fear, worried that the girl would use this as an excuse to kick his ass on their next practice session.

“Then spill. Or do you want your training menu quadrupled next week?” Touka-san said smugly, already knowing that she was winning as she crossed her legs like the queen she was.

Harry paled and shook his head again, harder this time. This was worse than having his ass kicked by the girl. Having his already demanding training menu quadrupled would be a real nightmare. He wouldn’t be able to walk for a week if he suffered through it!

“This isn’t fair.” Harry sighed and complained, regretting the fact that he had been defeated by the new arrival so easily like that while Shouji and Koma-san were giving her an awed look and a round of applause while Touka-san herself flicked back her short hair haughtily with her hand.

_What a tyrant_ , Harry sighed heavily.

A little intimidated by three pair of eyes looking his way expectantly, Harry looked down and played with Shouji’s book on the table to hide his nervousness as he mumbled lowly. “Someone groped me on the train last night is all. The police was just getting my statements and stuff.”

A crack and the sound of a chair being pushed harshly rang throughout the café and he whipped his head up, startled by the loud sounds. He noticed with unease that the tray Koma-san was holding on since the beginning was now in two broken pieces in his hands while Shouji was standing on his feet looking murderous as he yelled at him.

“Someone did _what_ to you?”

Harry winced at the blond’s loud voice and covered his ears. He glanced tentatively at his companions, seeing Touka-san’s visible eye widening in surprise before anger quickly settled in her purple eye. Harry quickly averted his eyes with a blush, feeling a bit awkward having to tell that in the presence of a woman.

“Please don’t shout, Shouji. It’s not a big deal anyway.” He said, rubbing his arms nervously. “I mean, I did have to buy another set of uniform since the guy ruined mine, but other than that, I’m fine and the guy was apprehended.”

“It’s _not a big deal_? Of course it’s a big deal!” Shouji yelled angrily at him. “You got—!”

“But I was fine! And I didn’t take it without a fight!” Harry yelled back at him, standing up too as his emotions rose in response to Shouji’s yelling. “Why are you angry at me, anyway? I didn’t ask for that to happen to me!”

Seeing that he was actually upset, Shouji faltered and looked away with clenched fists. “Because… because you got…”

Koma-san and Touka-san shared a meaningful look together and the purple-haired girl shrugged in bewilderment. Sighing, the waiter put his hands on Shouji’s shoulder, pushing him back to his seat forcibly.

“Now, now. Calm down so we can hear the whole story from Harry-kun first, Shouji.” Koma-san said, trying to calm the blond down so he didn’t pick a fight with the British boy and accidentally destroy the café, but said boy shook his head with a frown.

“I don’t want to describe everything in detail. I told you the important bits already.”

Hearing the upset tone in his voice, Touka-san exhaled audibly and crossed her other foot again as she leaned back on her seat.  “Well, if you don’t want to tell us anymore, that’s fine.” She assured him before continuing with a disgusted sneer. “But… a molester, huh? Same thing happened to my friend too on our way home last month, actually. People these days are so disgusting.”

The girl said darkly, before suddenly her dark look was replaced with a satisfied smirk that crept up her face.

“You did something.” Harry said weakly, having guessed the meaning of the girl’s smirk. It was not even a question, he was one hundred percent sure of it.

“Who do you think I am? The asshole made my friend cry, of course I paid him back threefold.” The girl smirked smugly, looking very much like a cat who got the canary as she crossed her arms again and examined her nails. “Followed him home and played with him for a bit, actually. Broke both his arms and crushed his dick with my foot. Was going to snap his neck too, but his neighbors heard his screams and called for the police before I could do it. A bit disappointing, really.”

The girl seemed to notice him looking at her with wide eyes and mistook his horrified expression as a fascinated one. She smirked and offered her hand to him. “Do you want me to play with the one who did it to you too, Harry? Just give me a name.”

Feeling a bit sick, Harry shook his head and replied her with a faint voice. “He could die if you play with him that way, Touka-san.”

“That’s the point!” Both Shouji and Touka-san exclaimed at the same time before the blond’s eyes met with his and they glared at each other once again. Koma-san conveniently used the broken pieces of his serving tray to hit both of their head before another argument could start between them. Even if there were no other customers but them at the café right now didn’t mean that they could be noisy and cause trouble for the Manager.

Clicking her tongue in irritation at the tension between him and Shouji, Touka-san propped her head on her hand and raised her eyebrow as she regarded him.

“Well? At least tell me you did something to him.” The girl said expectantly. Harry looked up from his sulking and sighed, his anger finally melting away.

“Please don’t encourage me, Touka-san. I don’t like hurting people.” Harry grumbled at her and shook his head. “But, yeah. I kind of broke some of his ribs trying to defend myself.”

“Then I’m glad that you at least learned something from our lessons.” The girl said, nodding approvingly before she sighed. “If only you were not this stubborn about not hurting or killing people, I wouldn’t worry this much about you. I know you’re not weak, but that kindness of yours… I fear that it would ruin you one day.”

Harry awkwardly froze in his seat, not knowing what he should do or say to that. Seeing his uneasiness, the only girl in the table gave him a small smile and flicked his forehead lightly, making him yelp in pain since her ‘light’ was still too hard for him.

“But I guess you wouldn’t be you if you were more like _us_.”

Harry knew that the meaning behind the word ‘ _us_ ’ that she used was ‘ _murderers_ ’ and he looked down as he rubbed his forehead, trying to hide his conflicting emotions. They were so kind and caring towards him, sometimes it’s easy to forget that these people that he interacted with in a daily basis were creatures that could only eat people to survive and didn’t really have any qualms about killing people if it suited their needs.

This fact saddened him, but he knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

“Why did you go home so late at night, anyway, Harry-kun?” Koma-san said, cutting his depressing thought before they could evolve into a more angsty one. Harry blinked at the waiter and shook his head to clear his mind.

“My class were making preparations for our school’s cultural festival and before we knew it, it had already became so late.” Harry explained, trying to suppress a yawn. “That’s why I was really tired today too, actually. Koma-san, can I have my coffee already?”

“Oh! Right. I forgot. Sorry, Harry-kun. I’ll be back with your order soon.”

Watching the older man disappeared to the kitchen counter to make his coffee, Harry turned to Touka-san and began to talk again with her, pointedly ignoring the blond who was also ignoring him from across the table. They were being childish, he knew, but it was not his fault. Nope. He was not doing anything wrong. It was Shouji’s fault for getting angry at him for no reason.

He continued to ignore the blond, talking with Touka-san and drinking his coffee until he glanced outside and noticed that the sky had begun to darken. Bidding the girl and Koma-san goodbye with the promise that he’ll visit again later after his school festival was over, Harry quickly gathered his things and stuffed them inside his bag.

 

 

Koma-san walked him to the front of the shop, telling him to be careful on his way home and to call his phone if he needed any help. Harry smiled and told the waiter that he worry too much. Waving to the waiter, he began to walk towards the train station when suddenly a familiar voice called out to him.

“Harry, wait.”

Harry stopped in his tracks and turned around to see the blond ghoul he was kind of fighting with running after him. Giving said blond a dirty look, Harry quickly turned again and hastened his steps, not in the mood to get in an argument with the older man again.

“Damnit, I said wait!”

A hand roughly grabbed his and Harry was once again stopped in his tracks.

“What do you want, Shouji?” Harry sighed, shrugging the ghoul’s hand off him and gave him a challenging look, daring the blond to start another fight with him. The blond looked a little dejected as he withdrew his hand back to his side.

“Listen… I’m…” Shouji licked his lips and rubbed the back of his head. “I’m sorry, okay? I know I was being a little unreasonable back there, but—”

_A little, huh?_ Harry snorted inwardly.

“—I was just worried about you, and then you said that it wasn’t a big deal. I know I’m in the wrong, but sometimes I just couldn’t control my emotions. Please don’t be mad at me anymore.” The ghoul finished nervously, waiting for his reaction.

Although Harry was still a bit miffed at him, seeing the blond’s sincere desire to make up with him he didn’t have the heart to just stay mad at him. Sighing, Harry patted Shouji’s upper arm and gave him a small smile.

“It’s fine. I forgive you. I got angry too easily too, so we’re both at fault.” Harry said as he began walking again. Harry didn’t know why, but Shouji was following his steps closely behind him. He took it as an invitation to continue their conversation though. “Besides, it really wasn’t a big deal, you know. I can defend myself, and I got help by some high school boys who saw what was happening to me too, though I didn’t really need their help.”

Harry suddenly stopped and blushed, remembering the smile of the black haired boy as he gave him his jumper.

Oh, why did he have to remember him now? Harry bit his lip in discomfiture, not really liking the fact that he had a crush on another boy. Not that he thought that being a homosexual was a bad thing, but this was an unfamiliar territory for him and he wasn’t entirely comfortable with it.

Maybe he was mistaken? He was pretty sure he liked girls before too. He still remembered falling for Cho Chang’s pretty smile him the year before and being entranced Irimi-san’s elegant beauty just a few weeks ago. And to be honest, even though that person’s facial features were kind of nice, he was a bit plain and unnoticeable. It’s not possible that he—

Wait.

Cho Chang.

Irimi-san.

That person.

Wasn’t there some similarities between the three of them? What was it, though…?

Harry scrunched up his face as he tried to remember what was it that was similar between the three of them before he gasped as realization came to him. Don’t tell him that he was attracted to black haired Asians?! But there were so many other black haired Asians in Japan, so why him…?

Harry suddenly remembered that person’s concerned smile as he handed him his dark blue knitted jumper and the kindness reflected in those grey eyes as he worry over him and—okay, maybe he really had a crush after all. No point in denying it if his heart was beating that fast just by the mere memory of that person’s smile.

He exhaled loudly. Well, it wasn’t like he was going to see that person again anyway, so he shouldn’t dwell too much on this.

Shouji kept engaging him into conversation as they walked together to make up for the time they lost while fighting earlier and he responded appropriately to all of his stories. They had already reached the train station in Shinjuku when Harry finally thought that it was _weird_ that Shouji was still following him.

A niggling suspicion made an appearance in the back of his mind and Harry stopped in his tracks. He looked at the blond who had stopped walking too and scrutinized the older man’s face. Harry bit his lip, not wanting his suspicion to be proven true, but…

“Shouji?” Harry asked weakly. “Are you… are you _escorting_ me?”

Shouji’s silence answered everything, truly.

“ _Oh my god_. Go home.”

Shouji flailed his arms, protesting in panic. “But Harry! It’s dangerous to walk alone at night!”

“I’m a man, Shouji, not a damsel in distress! And it’s not even that dark yet, the sun is just beginning to set!” Harry hissed at the blond, mortified. They’re all acting like he needed protection all the time, it was frustrating!

“Besides, Touka-san have been teaching me well. I can take care of myself a lot better now. I don’t need you or anyone to escort me home! I’m not a child!”

“W-well, you’re short so you might be mistaken as one!”

“I’m still growing, you prick! Wait a few years and you’ll see who the short one is!” Harry tried to stomp on Shouji’s shoes, but the blond evaded them deftly as he mocked his declaration.

“Ha! Dream on! There’s no way you’ll ever get taller than me, midget!”

Their arguments started anew even though they just made up a few minutes ago, but still Shouji wouldn’t leave him until he had make sure that Harry had entered his apartment room safely. It was a totally unnecessary gesture, but Harry secretly felt grateful for it despite how much he objected being treated like a child before.

Despite knowing that he could take care of himself, the incident from yesterday still made him a little wary of being alone at night.

 

 

Later that night though, Harry realized that he had run out of bread and butter for his breakfast the next morning, so he went to a convenience store to buy some after some thought. He figured the convenience store was close enough to his apartment so it should be safe enough even though the clock almost stroke 9 o’clock.

As he browsed through the shelves, he accidentally bumped into someone’s shoulder and dropped everything he was hoarding in his arms to the floor.

“S-sorry!” The guy said, immediately crouching on the floor to gather the snacks Harry had dropped when they bumped into each other. Harry dropped to his knees too to help him gather everything as he laughed it off.

“It’s fine. I was the one who was not paying attention.” Harry said as he accepted his things from the stranger. Looking up to thank the stranger, Harry gasped when his eyes met with a pair of beautiful gray ones.

He was the person from the train station.

“Oh, you’re…!” Harry exclaimed in surprise, cheeks heating up as he recognized the owner of those gray eyes. The other blinked at him before recognition came to him too and his lips twisted up in a small, shy smile which Harry thought was completely adorable.

“Good evening.” The person said softly, seeming unsure if he would be bothered if he talked to him.

“G-good evening.” Harry stuttered, not taking his eyes from the older boy’s face. He fell silent, not knowing what to say to the other boy. “Uhh… mm, you… you live around here?”

_How awkward. Good job, Harry._

The older one shook his head and scratched his cheeks in a nervous gesture. “N-no. My friend does, though. I’m spending the night with him tonight.”

“Oh.” Harry said dumbly. The friend must be the blond that were with him last time, right?

The other looked at him and shuffled his feet a little, before nervously opened his mouth. “Y-you live around here?”

“Y-yes. I lived in the big apartment building just one block from here.”

Before the older boy could respond, a yellow-haired person peeked his head from behind the shelves nearby, startling Harry with his sudden appearance. It was the other boy from the train station, his crush’s friend that he was staying with tonight.

“Hey, Kaneki! Did you get all the snacks I like already?” He said loudly before his eyes landed on Harry and recognition lit up his entire face. “Oh, wait! You’re the kid from yesterday! What a coincidence!” He said cheerily, quickly bouncing to their side. Harry smiled at him in greeting and the blond grinned back at him.

“Sooo… did you get home safely last night?” The blond asked him as he snatched a bag of chips from the rack to his right. “The police didn’t give you any problems, did they?”

“Y-yes. The police called a cab for me after everything was over.” Harry explained with a small smile before he bowed his head lightly to both boys. “Thanks for helping me yesterday, both of you.”

The blond grinned and waved away his hand good-naturedly.

“Nah, it’s fine. So what’s your name anyway? You don’t look Japanese to me.”

“That’s because I’m not one. I’m an exchange student from England, my name is Harry Potter. It’s nice to be acquainted with you.” Harry introduced himself politely, smiling as the blond looked at him with interest shining in his eyes.

“England, huh? Sounds like a great place. I’ve never been there before.” He whistled appreciatively.

“Of course you haven’t. You’ve been here with me almost all your life, Hide.” The black haired crush of his said exasperatedly before he turned to face him. The moment those gray eyes settled on him, Harry felt his cheeks burning again with a familiar heat. “M-my name is Kaneki Ken. It’s nice to meet you, Harry-kun.”

_Kaneki-san. What a nice name,_ Harry thought before he could stop himself. Oh, why couldn’t he act normal in front of his crushes? He remembered being a complete mess and an embarrassment (to both himself and everyone who happened to be watching) whenever he was in the general presence of Cho Chang last year and shuddered when he imagined himself acting the same way around his new crush.

“And, Hide! Don’t be rude! You should’ve introduced yourself first before asking for someone’s name like that.” Kaneki-san admonished his friend lightly, making the blond jolt as he realized his mistake.

“Oh, right. I forgot! Sorry, Harry!” Harry blinked at the familiar way the blond addressed him, but he wasn’t particularly bothered by it so he didn’t make a fuss. Besides, he rather liked the blond’s friendliness. “As you can probably guess, I’m Hide! Well, it’s actually Nagachika Hideyoshi, but Hideyoshi’s such a mouthful and I won’t allow you to call me by my family name so just call me Hide, okay?”

“Okay, Hide-san.” Harry agreed, smiling in half-amusement and confusion when the blond pulled a horrified expression.

“D-did you hear that, Kaneki? He just called me Hide-san. Hide- _san_! I sounds so old!”

“Well, it’s because you dyed your hair that atrocious color that you looked older than you are. I told you it’s a bad idea to dye it so bright like that.” Kaneki-san huffed, picking at his friend’s hair to make his point. Hide-san gasped and slapped his hand away before clutching his hair protectively.

“How _could_ you? I look beautiful, leave me alone!” The blond cried dramatically and Harry laughed at his reaction. Kaneki-san seemed to remember that he was still there witnessing their playful banter and blushed in embarrassment. Slapping Hide-san’s upper arm lightly, he hissed at the blond, “See, Hide? You’re embarrassing us! Sorry about that, Harry-kun. He’s such a drama queen sometimes.”

Harry waved his apology away, still lightly laughing. “It’s fine. Hide-san’s an interesting person.”

“Thank you. It’s part of my natural charms.” The blond said mock-graciously, making Kaneki-san elbowed his ribs to shut him up.

Harry watched their interaction with a small smile for a while, before he suddenly remembered something. “Oh, that’s right! Kaneki-san, your jumper! I still have to return it to you.”

Finally remembering that he had given the jumper he was wearing yesterday to him, Kaneki-san’s cheeks reddened as waved his hands wildly. “I-it’s fine! You don’t have to return it, Harry-kun. I gave it to you knowing that we probably would never meet again, anyway.”

Harry shook his head and insisted. “But it’s yours! And despite the low chances of us meeting again, we still met. So I definitely have to return it.”

“Oh… alright, if you insist.” The older boy smiled kindly at him. “Then how about tomorrow? We could meet at the train station after school and you can give it to me then.”

“Tomorrow? But our school’s cultural festival will be held tomorrow…”

Hide-san perked up when he heard the word festival.

“Ooh, a school festival! Our school just had them last week. It was so exhausting, right Kaneki?” The blond rambled. Seeing his friend’s agreement, Hide-san’s opened his mouth again in enthusiasm. “Hey Harry, which school do you attend to?”

“I attend Seinan Academy Middle School. Why do you want to know?” He answered honestly.

“Because we’re coming to meet you there tomorrow afternoon, of course!” The blond grinned. “But, wow. Isn’t Seinan really prestigious? You’re kind of amazing to be able to be accepted to that school. They’re known to only accept the richest or the smartest of students.”

“Thank you, but I’m not that—wait. H-huh? You’re coming?” Harry’s eyes widened in panic.

“Of course, when else can we visit a school that prestigious? Besides, it sounds like fun, right Kaneki?” The blond nudged his friend with his elbow lightly. “Which class are you in anyway, Harry?”

“N-no! I’m not telling! And you shouldn’t come!” Harry insisted, face flaming red in mortification. Oh, if they knew what his class is holding. He would never be able to show his face in front of Kaneki-san ever again. It would be too humiliating.

“Aw, why not?”

“Just no! Please don’t come!”

A chuckle escaped his crush’s lips and Harry felt his heartbeat quickening in response. Stupid him and his stupid crush! Act normal already, pull yourself together Harry! He berated himself before he glanced at Hide-san and realized that he was staring at Harry’s little reaction to Kaneki-san’s laugh with knowing eyes and a mischievous grin which made Harry’s heart drop to his stomach in anxiety.

Did Hide-san knew? Oh gods.

No, no. Maybe he had mistaken that glint in Hide-san’s eyes and he actually didn’t knew. Calm down, Harry. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

“Don’t force him if he don’t want to answer, Hide.” Kaneki-san said as his quiet laugh had subsided. “Come on already. It’s late, and tomorrow’s a big day for Harry-kun. We should pay for our things and get going. Besides,”

He glanced at the direction of the cashier.

“I think the employees here are starting to get annoyed by our loud voices.”

Both Harry and Hide-san glanced at said employees who were indeed looking as irritated as Kaneki-san had told them and they quickly went to the cashier to pay for their things. They separated their ways quickly after that, as the night air was cold and they didn’t want Harry to get sick or be out too late at night.

Harry waved them goodbye as he wondered if he looked _that_ weak that _everyone_ constantly tried to coddle him like that.

It was when Harry had entered his apartment again that he remembered that he forgot to get their email addresses to ask them for the convenient time for him to give Kaneki-san’s jumper back. He sighed as he looked at the calendar on his room wall warily, worried that both Kaneki-san and Hide-san will really visit him at his school tomorrow.

Knowing that worrying about it will bring him nothing good, he fell into a restless sleep, dreaming about leg hairs and dresses.

 

 

The next day Harry woke up with a bad feeling settling in his chest, but he waved it off as his unwillingness to go to school and endure a whole day of humiliation and began to get ready anyway.

_He can do this. His pride wasn’t something so fragile it could be hurt only by dressing up as a girl to serve customers that came to visit their class. This was nothing to him. He had been through worse things than this before. He can do this._

He chanted in his mind over and over as he silently let the girls in his class force him into a Lolita maid dress complete with a long wig in his natural hair color, lacy headband, a pair of white over-knee socks, black platform shoes, and make ups.

Thankfully Harry was one of the fortunate ones that could pull off the pretty-maid look almost perfectly, unlike the other boys in his class, so he wouldn’t embarrass himself too much. In fact, if one didn’t look at his arms and legs which were slightly toned from his routine trainings, one wouldn’t be able to tell if he was female or male.

There was only one other boy who could pull the look better than he did, and he had become an instant idol between their female classmates as well as people from the other class. They were all waiting to take a photo together with him, Harry observed with pity. The festival hadn’t even begun yet and the poor boy already looked exhausted.

Harry patted the skirt of his dress uncomfortably, feeling somewhat vulnerable at the sensation of wearing the skirt. Even though he knew he was wearing shorts underneath the skirt, it still felt too airy and weird. Harry honestly didn’t understand how the girls could stand having to wear skirts shorter than what he was wearing for their school uniform every day and yet managed to be completely at ease with them.

“Stop messing with it, Harry-kun! Your skirt is not riding up.” His class leader, Takizawa-san, said exasperatedly. She huffed and slapped his hands lightly when he kept patting them.

“But Class Leader, the skirt felt weird.” He cringed.

“Stop pouting! You look good. Honestly, look at Daichi-kun over there. He looked so much like a stereotypical _okama*_ it’s ridiculous, yet he doesn’t even look half as self-conscious as you are.” They both glanced to where said boy was jesting with his closest friends, looking very confident and completely hyped for the day.

“That actually… doesn’t make me feel any better, Takizawa-san.” He grimaced and she laughed at his reaction, slapping his arm in enthusiasm.

“Just try to have fun today, okay? It’s your first cultural festival after all!” The girl grinned before sauntering off to check on their makeshift pantry. Harry sighed, looking at the promotional pamphlet in his hands.

_Visit the Man Maid Café!_

_Only on Class 2-A of Seinan Academy Middle School!_

_…_

Seriously. Whoever suggested this idea for their class presentation needs to be taught a _lesson_ , _Touka-san style,_ Harry thought darkly. Sure, cross-dressing café was a classic idea for cultural festival, but that doesn’t mean that they have to use it for _their_ class.

Harry sighed again. At least because they were still in middle school the costumes had to be a ‘safe’ one that didn’t reveal too much skin so it was a small mercy for him, but still he didn’t like the feeling of wearing a skirt.

He scrunched up his face in annoyance and tugged at the wig he was wearing with a pout.

His mind suddenly brought him to the thought of Kaneki-san’s blue sweater— _which he had laundered, folded, and kept safely in his locker inside a nice paper bag he found with some cookies he made just that morning as thank-you gift_ —and blushed. Despite not wanting the older boy to come to visit him in his current state of dress, he still bring it with him anyway in case that he could actually come to visit.

He wanted to berate himself for being so hopeful because both Kaneki-san and Hide-san sounded like they were just joking yesterday, and yet the thought of the older boy coming to see him made his heart felt really warm and fuzzy that he couldn’t help but hope that they were truly coming to see him.

He sighed again for the umpteenth time that morning and glanced at the clock.

Just 15 more minutes until this damnable café’s opening time, then.

He can do this.

Nodding determinedly, Harry patted his skirt again and sauntered off to the kitchen to get something to snack on. He couldn’t fight a battle on an empty stomach after all.

**Next chapter: Assault**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you’re thinking. “Aw, shigeka, why did this story suddenly took a trashy turn?” right? Even I don’t know the answer to that lol.
> 
> Now, I’m sorry for using the word _okama_ there because I don’t know what the right English word for _okama_ is, sorry! But akebi translated it as: pot, (one’s) buttocks, male homosexual, effeminate man, or male transvestite. I don’t know what to use though, so I just used _okama_. If you know the correct and somewhat-polite term to this word, please tell me and I’ll change it.


	6. Assault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **I uploaded this chapter the same time as Chapter 5** , so you might want to read it first if you missed it. 
> 
> Before you say anything keep in mind that I’m writing this for my own enjoyment lol. You probably could tell how much of a trash I am seeing that I could be easily entertained by these kind of scenarios.
> 
> **Warnings:** Harry (unconsciously) flirting with girls while looking like a girl himself.

“What is this, you actually looked beautiful. When I found out that your class is making a Maid Café I thought you were going to look ugly.”

“Why are you here, Shouji?” Harry massaged the area between his eyebrows tiredly, already resigned to being subjected to at least a few hours of teasing about his appearance. The man in question was looking at him up and down with his mouth hanging open in amazement.

“Why, to see you, of course! Do you honestly think I would miss your first ever cultural festival?” The ghoul said, grinning widely from ear to ear. His smile was too bright that Harry had to close his eyes for a second.

“But Harry, is that any way to greet your master?” The blond then continued with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Harry felt heat gathering in his cheeks as his emotions rose at the blond ghoul’s words. Sending him his best glare, he gritted his teeth under the blond’s expectant grin before he forced his lips to stretch into a very unwilling smile as he curtseyed lightly. _It’s only for today, Harry. You have to endure this._

“Welcome home, _Master_.” He let out the words through clenched teeth. “Table for one?”

As expected, the blond snickered teasingly after hearing those words left his mouth.

“To think that the prideful Harry Potter would say that to me! This must be a miracle. Oh, wait. Damnit, I should have recorded that—ouch, _ouch_! Stop it, you little beast!” Shouji rubbed his stinging arm frantically, which Harry just pinched with all his strength in retaliation to his teasing.

Seeing his glare, Shouji quickly raised his arm in surrender before he shook his head in amusement.

“Calm down! Sheesh, I’m just teasing you, Harry. Also, table for two, actually. Don’t you see that I’m in the company of a very special little princess here?” Shouji said, nudging something behind him with his elbow lightly. A small head with brown hair and large innocent brown eyes peeked out from behind the tall ghoul’s body. It was then that Harry noticed that Shouji were bringing a small girl with him.

Seeing the large brown eyes gazing at him shyly, Harry suddenly realized that she was the same girl he met on the park a few weeks ago. Smiling tentatively, Harry bend his body slightly and offered his hand to the girl.

“Oh, hello there, My Lady. Sorry that I didn’t notice you before. My name is Harry and I will be serving you today.”

The girl kept looking at him for another seconds before she finally took his hand with a faint blush on her rounded cheeks. “Y-you look different, but… you’re the Oniichan from the park, right?”

“I am.” He smiled. “You remember me?”

“U-un. Of course! Because you’re so kind to me!” The girl nodded enthusiastically, gaining a little confidence after seeing his smile. Harry suppressed a blush at that. He wasn’t _actually_ being kind that time after all, just getting rid of a problem and she was conveniently there. He kind of felt like he had deceived this girl somehow.

“Oh, you’ve met before?” Shouji asked, interested, and the little girl nodded again.

“Harry-niichan gave me some—”

Harry panicked and covered the girl’s mouth from behind before she could reveal something that might be potentially dangerous to him and her eyes widened when she remembered that she had agreed to keep their encounter a secret.

“Oh, come on! I want to hear about it!” Shouji complained.

“No. Gossiping is not good, Shouji.” Harry denied his whining.

“But this isn’t even a _gossip_!”

Harry clicked his tongue in disapproval while the little girl in his arms giggled lightly, grabbing his hands to hid her laugh. Smiling, he led them to the table and pulled the chair for the girl to sit on. She blushed and accepted it in delight, while he left Shouji to pull his own chair.

“You’re Hinami, right? I heard your mother calling you that last time.” Harry began again as he gave them their café’s menu even though he knew it was unnecessary as he already knew what they would order.

The brown haired girl nodded and gave him a bright smile. “Yes. I’m Fueguchi Hinami!”

“It’s a pretty name. May I call you Hinami-chan then?” He asked and the girl blushed again, which Harry thought was adorable though Shouji was watching their interaction with a weird expression on his face. Feeling self-conscious again thinking that the blond was staring at him, Harry patted his wig to make sure nothing was out of place.

“What?” He said defensively.

“It’s just… you know she’s only two years younger than you, right? Seeing you treating her like that was a bit weird.” Shouji finally answered him in amusement. Harry gaped and his head snapped towards Hinami, who looked curious and so innocent sitting there while reading the menu.

“Seriously? I thought you’re eleven! Wait, no. You look even younger than that actually, but eleven was my guess.” Harry looked at her incredulously and she pouted.

“I’m already thirteen!”

Looking at her closely, Harry could see that she did not look as young as he thought, but she definitely looked younger when he didn’t look that closely. Was it her innocence? Or because of the oversized dress she was wearing?

She seemed to notice that he was staring at her dress because she fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze. “I know it’s a little big. We don’t have much money to buy clothes for me, so I’m wearing my mother’s old dress.” She explained a little awkwardly, making Harry’s heart ache for some reason.

“Oh…” He said, not knowing what to say to her confession. “It suits you though, Hinami-chan. You look really pretty in that dress.”

Hearing his compliment, the girl’s face turned tomato-red and he smiled in relief, glad that she had cheered up. His smile turned into a frown when he remembered that the price of their café was quite high though. Even a cup of coffee was ¥500 here. That’s about ¥150 more expensive that Starbucks’ coffee prices—which was ridiculous because he thought that Starbucks’ prices are already _way_ overpriced* just for a cup of coffee. If she didn’t have that much money, wouldn’t it be bad for her family if she came here? Should he pay for her orders?

Shouji seemed to know what he was thinking as he waved his hand dismissively with a grin. “Don’t worry, I’m paying today so it’s okay.”

Harry smiled in relieve, not wanting the girl to be in trouble with her family. “Then I’ll take your orders now. Two cups of black coffee?”

“Yes please!” Both Shouji and Hinami said together at the same time, and Harry smiled seeing the girl’s mood had been lifted once again.

“Two cups of black coffee then. Please wait a moment for your orders, Master, My Lady.”

As he walked away to fetch their drinks from the kitchen, Harry heard Hinami whispering to the older ghoul about how pretty he was and Harry felt like he was going to die from the embarrassment.

As he told the one in duty of making beverages of Shouji and Hinami’s orders, a voice called out to him loudly.

“Harry-kun! There’s two customers requesting your service in the waiting area…” Takizawa-san said as she peeked to the pantry searching for him.

“Two of them? Why are there so many people coming to see me today? I haven’t even finished with the ones I’m serving now.” Harry almost whined to his class leader who only smiled in glee seeing his unhappy expression.

“Isn’t this a good thing? You’re popular!”

“No. No it’s not. I don’t like being looked at in this get up.” Harry grumbled, fixing his apron as he walked out the kitchen. “Don’t put sugar or milk into those cups, Seri-san. My friends like them very black.”

“Sure.” The girl answered, giving him a lazy salute as she chewed a bubble gum in her mouth. “I got this, just go greet your customers, Harry-kun.”

He waved back at her and left the pantry. He barely reached the waiting area when he was accosted by a girl wearing another school’s uniform.

“Wait, Touka-chan?! This is your friend?!” A blond haired girl exclaimed, her eyes wide in surprise as she stopped right in front of him and grabbed the side of his face to examine him closely. “What is this unfairness? He’s prettier than I am!” She complained.

Harry wondered why he was surrounded with so many people with blond hair. Did someone put a curse on him so that he would attract blonds to his life? Malfoy Jr. and Sr., Shouji, Hide-san, and then this girl too.

“Yoriko, don’t terrorize him.” The purple haired ghoul smiled in amusement. “But I do agree that you look quite lovely in that dress, Harry.”

Seeing the mischievous glint in her eyes, Harry wondered why the girl and Shouji acted so similar sometimes when they claimed that they hate each other.

“See? You thought so too right?” The girl pouted as she let go of his face.

“I can’t even tell anymore if you’re teasing me or complimenting me, Touka-san. But it’s all the make-up and the wig’s fault. I’m actually not pretty at all without all these beautifying products covering my face.” Harry said wearily, giving up on acting like a proper maid. “So do you want to sit with Shouji or do you want to sit at a different table?”

“Shouji’s here?”

“Yeah, with a girl called Hinami-chan. Do you know her?”

Seeing the purple-haired ghoul perked up in recognition and enthusiasm, Harry guessed the answer to that was a ‘yes’.

“Of course I know her. She’s here? That girl didn’t go out much, she must be in a great shock suddenly seeing all these boys wearing dresses and make-ups like this.” His self-defense teacher laughed lightly behind her hand. Harry wondered why she seemed more girly and gentle all of the sudden, but he knew that he would be killed next time if he actually asked her the reason so he wisely stayed silent.

“Is it alright if we sit with them, Yoriko?” Touka-san then asked her friend who nodded enthusiastically. She seemed so naturally sweet and looked like she genuinely cared for the purple-haired girl, which warmed Harry’s heart. Touka-san definitely deserved someone like Yoriko-san on her life.

The girl grinned widely. “Of course! I would love to know your friends, Touka-chan.”

“Then, let me show you the way.” Harry smiled as he offered his hand to the blond haired girl, who giggled happily in response as she accepted his hand while Touka-san watched them interact fondly from behind.

When they reached Shouji and Hinami-chan’s table as the two were talking and laughing together. The fourteen years old girl’s eyes lit up happily as she saw Touka-san walking behind him and she stood up quickly before running to hug the older girl’s midsection.

“Oneechan!”

Touka-san smiled and spun her around once before setting her down on her feet again.

“Hinami! It’s good to see you again. How’s your mother?” His mentor asked as they sat down on their respective seats.

“She’s good, thanks for asking! Come sit with us, please! There’s two empty seats here!” Hinami-chan giggled in joy, making a smile bloom on the face of everyone who happened to be watching them. Her cheerfulness was infectious, but he had a job to do so unfortunately he had to cut their sweet reunion short.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Touka-san, Yoriko-san, do you want to order now or do you need time to decide first?” He asked them, handing both girls the beautifully designed menu of their maid café.

“Yoriko- _san_! Can you believe him, Touka-chan? I sounds so old!” The girl cried in indignation and didn’t that line sound familiar? Harry hid his amused smile as she insisted to be called in a more familiar way. “Just call me Yoriko-chan, Harry-kun! You’re way too formal!”

“You don’t have to humor her, Harry. She’s just in denial over her age.” His self-defense mentor laughed lightly before she handed him back the menu and smiled at him. “And we’ll order now, thanks. I’ll have the Bunny Sandwich and Café au lait, please.”

Hearing what the ghoul ordered, Harry frowned and send her a worried glance. Touka-san just nodded slightly in response, indicating him not to make a fuss and question her choice of food and beverage. Harry glanced at Yoriko-san then, and noticed that Shouji was scowling rather subtly at her this whole time. Something clicked in his mind and he finally realized that the blond girl was not a ghoul.

Feeling a bit stupid, Harry tried to hid his discomfiture by looking down at his feet. Harry had been interacting with so much ghouls that he didn’t know how to differentiate between the two races anymore. It came as a surprise that the Touka-san who seemed like she didn’t like humans was friends with one though.

“And what would you like, Yoriko-san?” He asked the girl who was still looking over the menu with excitement reflected in her muddy-green eyes. She looked up at him with eyes full of shines and answered him with eagerness.

“The Kitty Pancake Set, please! It looks so cute in the menu!” Said girl gushed at him and he chuckled indulgently at her.

“Alright then, I’ll go get your orders ready and—”

Takizawa-san appeared with a grin on her face and interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. “Harry-chan! Two customers are here asking for you!” She whispered to his ears only, though he was fairly sure that Touka-san, Shouji, and Hinami could hear her words too.

Harry pulled a face and whispered back to her discreetly.

“Again? Why can’t you just assign Takeda-kun to serve them? I saw him lounging around in the back—” He complained as he once again turned around in the direction of the waiting area before he saw who were requesting his presence and his entire body froze. Heat rose to his face as his eyes landed on the figure of a black haired boy.

“K-Kaneki-kun!” He squeaked out in surprise as his friends looked at him in curiosity.

“G-good afternoon, Harry-kun.”

“Hey! I’m here too, Harry!”

Hide-san and the black haired crush of his said to him at the same time. Harry could only stare at the grin in Hide-san’s face and the awkward smile in Kaneki-san’s with mouth agape as his embarrassment rose until his face was completely red. In the end, he couldn’t take it anymore and he did a U-turn towards the pantry.

“Takizawa-san, I’m going to hide in the kitchen until everything is over.” He told his class leader whose eyes widened in panic at his words.

“What? No, you’re not allowed! Harry-kun!”

As he was about to make his escape though, an arm was slung across his shoulder and he saw Hide-san grinning ear to ear beside him. He looked down to hide the redness of his cheeks, but he knew his effort was in vain as he can practically feel the amusement radiating off the blond that was hanging on him.

“So this is why you didn’t want us to come?” He heard the blond teased him and his ears felt like they were burning from the embarrassment. “But Harry, you look gorgeous in that dress!”

“Hide-san, if you don’t shut up and let go of me now, I don’t care if I get in trouble but I will hit you with a chair.” He hissed and tried to pry the human’s arm off him. He failed, obviously, and the blond laughed his threat off knowing that he was not seriously going to carry it out.

“Aw, come on. Kaneki also thought that you look good, you know!” The blond grinned and tightened his grip on him so he couldn’t escape.

“W-what?” Harry stuttered, feeling his heart skip a beat at the blond’s words.

Both of them glanced towards where the black haired boy was standing with his class leader, looking confused and unsure and totally adorable and Harry lowered his eyes again in embarrassment and berated himself for being hopeful. Hopeful of what, even he didn’t know the answer, but hearing that Kaneki-san thought he looked good suddenly make him less uncomfortable and unhappy in his dress.

Harry suppressed a pleased smile as tension left his body, not realizing that Hide-san was watching his face with an unreadable emotions in his eyes. In just a moment though, his grin was back on his face and he leaned closer to whisper something in his ear.

“You like him, right?”

Startled, Harry’s eyes widened and the color red completely overtook his face. Ah, he knew after all! Feeling mortified, he could only stand there clutching his skirt with trembling hands under Hide-san’s bright, satisfied smiles. He opened his mouth to deny the blond’s assumption, but found that his vocal cords were not cooperating with him. In the end, he could only shut his mouth while wishing that the ground would open up and swallow him forever.

All of the sudden though, he heard Hide-san yelping and then the weight of Hide-san’s arm was abruptly lifted from his shoulders. He turned around in surprise and saw Shouji glaring at Hide-san, gripping the human’s forearm in a threatening manner.

“Is this guy bothering you, Harry?” Shouji glared at Hide-san who could only sent him a ‘please save me’ look as he raised his other arm that wasn’t being constrained up in a show of surrender.

“What?” He gaped at Shouji, then he realized that the ghoul must have mistaken Hide-san’s teasing as a threat towards him and he panicked. “No, no! He’s a friend, Shouji! Stop this, you’re making a scene!”

“But, Harry—!”

“It’s fine! Just sit. You too Hide-san. Go find a table for yourself and Kaneki-san already. Here’s the menu if you want to browse through it. I’ll get back to you after I get their orders ready.” Harry ushered Hide-san with a tight smile. When the blond glanced at him with worry, his smile widened and he pushed the human’s back forcefully. “Come on, come on!”

When Hide-san and Kaneki-san was seated, he hurried back to Shouji’s side and pushed the blond back to his seat too.

“Please control your temper, Shouji! This is my first cultural festival, please don’t ruin it by picking a fight!” He hissed to the ghoul who argued back at him.

“But he’s—” Shouji tried to say something, before he cut his own words and scowled in frustration. “I don’t like him.”

Harry put his hands on his waist in irritation and glared at the blond. “Well he’s my friend. So is his friend. I don’t care if you don’t like them or anything but I won’t forgive you if you did anything to them.”

“Tch. Fine.” The ghoul grumbled, finally giving up. “Just be careful, okay? I don’t trust them.”

Harry sighed, exhausted. He got a long way in improving Shouji’s views on humans in general, didn’t he? Shaking his head, Harry walked towards the kitchen to hide from the madness outside for a while. He didn’t care that he was neglecting his maidly duties—they can entertain themselves for a while, he needed a break.

 

 

She huffed through her mask as she kept moving her legs, clicking her tongue in irritation as she dodged yet another bullet the damned doves shot at her. Why wouldn’t they give up already? Her make-up is going to melt if this continued.

Okay, maybe she was the one at fault here for being careless when she was feeding last night, but did they really have to chase her this far? Such barbaric creatures.

Another bullet shot past her, and she finally stopped running. There’s no point in keep running like this, she’ll just tire herself out—which meant that she won’t be able to fight with her fullest power then. Hm, what to do, what to do…

She tilted her head and caught the eyes of the leader of the doves and a smirk tugged at her lips, hidden by the mask she was wearing.

She’ll just have to break their spirits so they’ll stop chasing her, then.

 

 

After everything calmed down, Harry went back to everyone with their orders in hand. A cup of black coffee for both Shouji and Hinami, Bunny Sandwich and Café au lait for Touka-san, a Kitty Pancake with a cup of Earl Grey tea included in her set for Yoriko-san, Omurice and Black tea for Kaneki-san, and a Latte macchiato for Hide-san.

As he set the Café au lait in front of Touka-san, Yoriko-san made a comment to the purple-haired girl with an excited squeal only a teenage girl could emit. “Oh, they decorated your coffee! The bunny is too cute! Aw, I should have ordered the same thing.”

Both Hinami and the purple-haired girl giggled in response to her pouting, and Harry took his glance off them to put the plate of Omurice in front of Kaneki-san. Readying his bottle of ketchup in his hand, he smiled at the black-haired boy, trying to hide his nervousness as he did so.

“What kind of animal do you like, Kaneki-san?” He asked the boy, who floundered for a moment as he thought of one animal.

“Um, um… a cat?” He tilted his head and Harry smiled slightly at the sight before he caught Hide-san’s amused smirk and he forced a neutral expression on.

“A cat then. Please wait a minute.” Harry said as he bend down towards the plate, glad that the black-haired boy chose something easy. Carefully, he drew the outline of a cat with the ketchup, adding two dots for the eyes, six short lines for the whiskers, and a cute little mouth to finish it up.

“There. Do you like it?” Harry asked his crush who laughed a little seeing the actual result.

“It’s cute. Thanks.” Kaneki-san smiled. His blond friend pouted and slammed his hands lightly on the table in a ploy to get their attention, and Harry gave him a dirty look which made the blond pout even more.

“What’s with this unfair treatment? I want you to draw a kitty for me too!” Hide-san whined, and Harry only smiled at him as he raised the ketchup bottle higher.

“You want me to put ketchup in your macchiato? Sure, give me your glass.”

Hide-san paled imagining the taste of ketchup in his drink and covered his glass protectively with his arm. “No thanks, I like it the way it is right now.”

Harry smirked at him before he heard a joyful giggle from the neighboring table. He glanced towards the source of that lighthearted sound and saw Hinami being whispered something by a smirking Shouji. Harry made a face, knowing that the ghoul was up to no good again.

His suspicion was proven when the girl waved at him to come over.

“Harry-niichan, Harry-niichan! Put a spell on my drink, please!” Hinami pleaded with her innocent eyes opening widely.

Harry blinked in confusion.

“A spell?” Surely she didn’t mean an actual _spell_.

“Yes! Shouji said that maids put a spell on the drinks and foods to make them tastier.” Hinami looked up at him expectantly, and Harry started to panic, not wanting to disappoint her but also not knowing what to do either. Maids do things like that? Seriously? He had never been to an actual maid café before, how could he know the spell?

His eyes met with Seri-san who had come out from the kitchen to hand over some drinks she had made to another maid so that he could deliver it to his customers and she stopped in her tracks. He mouthed at her, ‘ _spells_!’ and an understanding crossed her otherwise unreadable face.

Harry watched as the expressionless girl put her hands in front of her chest, making the shape of a heart and mouthed him some words. Awkwardly, Harry copied her movements and words.

“O… _Oishikunaare_ , mo… moe moe, kyun?” He stumbled over the words*, before he realized what he had just said and then his face was flaming as giggles broke out around him. He caught sight of a smirking Seri-san slinking back towards the kitchen and trembled in mortification. Oh, he’ll pay her back later for this…!

“Gods, that was priceless.” Touka-san gasped followed by Hinami’s laugh, and Harry sighed, resigning himself to be laughed at by his friends when suddenly a really loud crash sounded and Harry whipped his head in the direction of the sound in surprise.

“Oh, what now?” Harry said, exasperated. The clock haven’t even strike 1 o’clock yet so many troublesome things had happened and Harry found himself already completely exhausted. He huffed and excused himself from his friends, to help check on what was wrong.

“Takizawa-san? Did someone drop a plate?” He asked, poking his head into the pantry. The girls who were working in the kitchenette all shook their head and waved at him in greeting. He waved back at them as his class leader approached him with a worried frown.

“No, nothing’s broken. I hear the crash too though, maybe from another class?” The girl barely finished his sentence when suddenly, another crash and crumbling sounds were heard. This time it was louder, nearer, and sounded like a wall breaking. Someone’s screaming followed the crash, followed by another scream, and all of the sudden everyone was screaming.

“What? What’s happening? Harry-kun what’s happening?” Takizawa-san panicked, clutching his arms like a lifeline. Harry’s blood rushed as his heartbeat picked up pace, and he loosened the girl’s grip on him quickly.

“Stay here. Don’t come out until I say so, okay.” He told the girls before he ran outside. His eyes met with Shouji and Touka-san, who both were looking alarmed and ready to fight.

“What happened?” He asked as he approached them. Kaneki-san and Hide-san too were standing up now, looking both distressed and alert. His classmates and the other customers too. Harry took his glance away from them as Shouji shook his head in answer to his question.

“I’m going to see what happened.” Harry told them before ignoring their protests and went outside only to freeze in his place as he went face to face with a ghoul wearing a medical mask with her Bikaku kagune out in the air threateningly.

_What in the heavens…_

There were a large hole in the wall and windows that he presumed was made by the ghoul’s forceful entrance to their school and the people from other classes who had went to the corridor to see what was happening too was backing away from her with fear etched in their faces while she was looking at them with disgust.

The initial screaming had stopped and now they were just frozen there with fear and Harry wanted to yell at them to run and save their lives, but he too had frozen there as the ghoul scrutinized him with interest.

“Oh? What’s this? You there… what a delicious smell you have. Such a pretty costume too.” She said, her eyes crinkling upwards like she was smiling underneath her mask and Harry shivered in disgust.

She took a step towards him, but before she could reach him, a loud bang was heard from the end of the corridor before something hit her left shoulder and exploded. Everyone screamed again and finally begun to run away as white smoke filled the corridor.

“Ghoul! There’s a ghoul in school!” Someone screamed, and this prompted other people who were previously not in the know to panic too as they tried to save themselves.

Harry too tried to run to tell his classmates to save themselves, but the explosion combined with people rushing past him made him lose his balance and he fell to the ground.

_Damnit, why today of all times?_

His thoughts raced as he covered his eyes from the smoke with an arm, but from the end of the corridor he could still see several people—all of them wearing white coats—were running towards the ghoul with weapons in their hands.

_Doves,_ his mind supplied to him automatically. All of them were wearing a wary and defeated expressions like they knew they couldn’t win against the female ghoul, but still they clutched their weapons in determination. Harry glanced back towards the ghoul who were snarling at the investigators as she clutched her bleeding shoulder, hissing as the open wound began to mend in a slow pace.

“You caught up with me fairly quick.” The ghoul mocked them as her wounds finally healed. “And after I’ve gone through the trouble to kill your leader, too. He was the only one between the lot of you who can actually fight, right? I thought you would be too… cowardly, to go after me after watching me ripping apart his chest with my kagune. I guess I underestimated you _doves_.”

Their faces paled and their hands shook, but one brave soul finally shouted back at her.

“Shut up! You’re the cowardly one, running into this school full of children!”

“Ah, well, this school was conveniently there for me to hide in. Why shouldn’t I take advantage of it? I know you couldn’t fight to your full power unless you want to harm these precious little children. It’s your fault for not checking the locations first when you decided to ambush _me_.” The ghoul laughed lightly and used her kagune to snatch a poor student who were still frozen there watching their exchange—a poor student who just happened to be him because he was the closest to her location.

“Wah, _ah_!” He yelped and tried to struggle, but her grip on his body was strong and he found himself unable to free himself. He had underestimated a ghoul’s true strength. He thought that there weren’t much gap between his and their strength because of his experiences with Shouji, Yomo-san, and Touka-san, but he realized now that they must have been holding their strength back when they were training him. He was so stupid.

“Let go of me!” He shouted and tried to kick the ghoul with his heel, but the ghoul tightened her grip on his neck in retaliation.

“Ah, ah, ah. Little girl, don’t move around too much lest my hand slipped I accidentally snapped your neck, okay?” She sang in his ears and Harry fumed. He wanted to correct her that he was a boy, but then from the corner of his eyes he saw his friends trying to discretely escape the classroom and he stilled. He couldn’t do anything rash, then, in case he pulled her attention to his friends and put them all in danger.

“Good girl. Now… can you fight me like this, Mr. Investigator?” The ghoul smirked, wrapping her arms around him in sadistic glee as she watched the investigators tightening their grips on their quinque. She leapt and lashed her kagune at them, dragging Harry with her as she attacked the poor investigators who, combined with the narrow corridor, were too afraid to hit him to actually fight back.

“Don’t worry about me, fight!” He yelled at them, and her claws pierced his neck in warning.

Despite dragging him with her though, the ghoul’s movements were not hindered at all. Sure she couldn’t use her hands to attack, but she was adept in using her kagune and her legs were fast. She didn’t care for the students’ lives or the building’s condition too, unlike the investigators, so that was an advantage for her, but they were not giving up yet.

Suddenly, another bullet hit the ghoul’s back, and the strong explosion caused her grip on him to weaken and he was thrown several feet away. His head hit the ground first and felt something warm trickling down the side of his face.

Weakly, he propped himself up with trembling arms and touched the warm thing dripping down his face.

“Wh-what is this…?” He squinted, his eyes blurring from the pain. “Blood?”

More of the warm liquid dripped down from his forehead, and the next thing he knew he had fallen again to the ground face first, his consciousness ebbing away from him and darkness started to consume his vision.

No… he can’t fall asleep now…

He can’t—

**Next Chapter: Hands**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look at that. The Maid Café thing actually had a plot. Kind of. And it ended in a cliffhanger too. I sucked at writing these actions scenes, huh.
> 
> *Starbucks’ prices ranged around ¥350 if I remembered correctly, and I’m imagining that Anteiku’s prices are around ¥180 - ¥300. Obviously Harry always bought the cheapest one because he’s stingy.  
> * _Oishikunaare_ means something like ‘please become tasty!’
> 
> Thank you all for reading, have a nice day!!!
> 
> _PS. If you play Fire Emblem Fates too and want to visit my castle, here’s my address! 14385-74690-78838-41310. (Yes, this chapter and the last one was late because I played it all day all night every single day after its release and yes, I know I belong in the garbage bin)_


	7. Hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. It is I, the scumbag who lied about going to update last week. But at least it’s here now, right?
> 
> I had the memória! version of Vector to the Heavens playing as I was writing this chapter and _wow what a bad idea that was_. There’s literally no sad scene in this chapter and yet I still managed to drown my laptop in my tears. But seriously though. It should be illegal to make a _kids’ game_ this tragic.
> 
> **Warning:** Gore? Kind of? I mean it’s not graphic but there’s a little blood somewhere. Also, I messed up the POV in the beginning and couldn’t be bothered to fix it lol.

The moment another explosion was heard and someone screamed that a ghoul was inside the building, Shouji immediately ran towards the door to see the situation. When he caught sight of the little foreign boy he had grown attached to being strangled by the female bikaku through the glass on the door, his heart was filled with fear.

_He had to keep him safe, he couldn’t let that boy get hurt_ —those words filled Shouji’s mind as his hands moved automatically to the door’s handle, ready to yank it open and storm outside towards the green-eyed boy’s side when suddenly a hand gripped his wrist roughly and pulled him back inside the classroom.

“What the hell?” He snarled at the owner of the hand, but Touka-chan kept on dragging him inside. Irritated, he tried to pull his arm away from her grip. “Let go of me! He needs my help!”

Shouji growled at the purple-haired ghoul, but she held on firmly, not letting him off.

“No. Shouji, remember what we are. Do you want to expose us to these people?” Touka-chan hissed back at him, tightening his grip on his arm in warning. The other people in the class watched them argue in anxiety, but they couldn’t hear their whispered words as the sounds of fighting outside masked their voices completely. “Think of what Harry would want us to do. His friends are still here—we need to get them to safety first. If you acted rashly these people are going to be in danger too.”

Shouji snarled at her again. “I don’t care about these people! That bitch—she got Harry!”

“Do you think I didn’t know that? I want to help him too!” Touka-chan grabbed the front of his shirt furiously as she raised her voice. “But we need to be logical here. We might be able to win against her even without _that_ , but even an idiot will notice how strange it would be for a human to be able to win against a ghoul _barehanded_!”

Shouji faltered, looking desperate. He knew that she had a point, but Harry was…

“You have Hinami to protect too, Shouji. Don’t forget this.” The girl continued softly, releasing him now that he had calmed down. “Hinami is helpless, Harry is not. _I_ taught him how to defend himself. He’ll think of something. He won’t die from just this.”

Shouji gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

“I hope you’re right.”

Squeezing the blond’s arm once in reassurance, Touka quickly went back to her friend and Hinami’s side. When they looked at her anxiously, she waved off their worries with a little smile and fastened Yoriko’s jacket and told her to gather her things. “Come on. Ready yourselves. We’re leaving this building.”

“B-but… Touka-chan, there’s a ghoul outside!” Yoriko said, looking like she was close to tears and Touka’s chest stung a little. She knew that her fear was understandable, but still…

Touka shook her head and put on a smile to encourage her friend.

“I know, but you have to be brave. There’s no guarantee that they’ll keep their fighting outside. If we’re trapped here when they broke inside, we won’t have anywhere to run.” She said before she turned to all the other people in the room. “Follow us if you want to get out. We’ll be leaving shortly, so prepare yourselves fast.”

“W-wait, Harry-kun is still…” The black haired human Harry called his ‘friend’ stepped towards her nervously and she shook her head at him, her expression grim.

“Let’s leave saving him to the investigators. We’ll just hinder them if we linger in here.” She said shortly and the human looked taken aback. His hands trembled and he looked like he wanted to say something else to her, but he closed his mouth again and went back to his stupidly bright-haired friend.

“You can’t be serious! He’ll die!” One of Harry’s classmates yelled at her, but Touka was unfazed in the wake of his anger.

“And what can you, a bunch of powerless children, do against a ghoul when a bunch of trained adults with _weapons_ are having trouble dealing with her?” She retorted harshly at the boy who dared to yell at her. “Harry’s smart and quick on his feet. I know that he’ll be fine even if he’s out there alone. Now you people on the other hand, are not. Though… it’s up to you if you still want to go out there and help him or not.”

She challenged him and he backed down with gritted teeth and clenched hands, fully aware that he didn’t have the power to make a difference. Touka nodded, satisfied. She looked back toward her friend and saw her looking at her anxiously.

“He’ll be fine? You promised?” Yoriko asked her, on the verge of tears and Touka nodded with a small smile.

“Yes. Believe in him, Yoriko.”

With that, Yoriko wiped her wet eyes and nodded back determinedly at her. Touka took hold of Yoriko’s hand and then led them all outside. Shouji was still frowning in anxiety as they sneaked out, holding onto Hinami’s hand protectively.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Harry being dragged by the ghoul as she attacked the doves mercilessly, being used as a human shield by the ghoul so that the doves couldn’t fight back. She gritted her teeth in frustration seeing the scene, but there was nothing she could do without risking exposing what they were to the public.

She continued to walk briskly, unknowing that a certain blond was watching her and the older man with rapt attention.

Hide was following the others evacuate with Kaneki by his side when he caught a glimpse of the pretty but scary lady that was Harry’s friend glancing back at the black-haired boy with a conflicted expression.

He glanced at said boy—looking angry and defiant as he screamed at the investigators to fight back, unafraid and unflinching even under the threat of being killed by the ghoul—and then towards his childhood friend who looked like he wanted to go back and help the other boy but knowing that he was also powerless so he didn’t do anything.

Seeing the typical reaction of his friend, Hide sighed with an exasperated smile as he stopped moving his legs from moving.

Kaneki was a kind person with a myriad of good intentions, but he was too timid to actually do anything with his own hands. Hide knew though that someday, someday Kaneki will be able to do anything if he put his mind to it—that’s why Hide will be there to support him every step of the way until Kaneki could find his own courage and become his stand in when his friend still couldn’t find it.

That’s why…

“Hide?” His precious friend looked back at him quizzically when he stopped moving, and Hide grinned at him.

“You go first, Kaneki. There’s something I forgot to take with me still inside!”

Without waiting for his friend’s reaction, Hide went back inside with a dash.

He had a little foreigner to fetch.

 

 

“Harry! Harry, come on buddy, you can’t sleep here.” Someone whisper-shouted, and Harry felt like he knew that voice but he was too disoriented to put a name on his voice. He blinked twice, and felt his head getting clearer. How long was he out? Someone with yellow hair was in front of him, and he squinted.

“Shouji?” He asked, and the person gave him a strained grin.

“No, silly. It’s Hide. Your scary friend wanted to come to rescue you, but he had a little girl to protect. Your other friend—the pretty lady one—also had his pretty friend to look after, so I sent Kaneki ahead with them and volunteered to fetch you.” The blond explained quietly as to not pull the attention of the ghoul who were still fighting the investigators towards them with a grimace as he noticed the wound on Harry’s head. “Ah, they’ve gotten out already by the way. Can you stand though? Your head looks pretty bad.”

“Y-yes, I’m fine.” This was nothing compared to the last time Touka-san and Yomo-san tried to get his kagune to come out, he told himself. And his wounds were almost completely healed too. “How long was I’m out?”

“I’m not sure, but no longer than eight minutes, I think.” Hide-san scrunched up his nose in concentration before he stood up quickly, tugging Harry’s arm with him. “Come on. We need to get out of here while the investigators are distracting her.”

Harry allowed himself to be propped up with the blond’s help before he remembered something. “Wait, Hide-san… you said my friends have gotten out already right? What about the girls? Did they go out with the rest of you?”

“Huh? No, there’s no girls except for the visitors, I think.” Hide-san said, looking at him with confusion.

“You… you didn’t stop by the kitchen to get them first before leaving?” When blond shook his head, Harry’s heart sunk to the bottom of his stomach.

“Oh… oh no.” He was the one who told them not to come out until he said it was safe. They probably still hadn’t any idea what was happening outside their little corner, and the others must have not noticed that they were not with them in the panic. “This is bad. We have to get them first. What about the investigators though?”

“They can handle themselves, probably.” Hide-san muttered. “I hope so.”

He heard the sound of someone crashing through a wall and felt something cold settling in his chest. Harry glanced back at the still fighting investigators, watching as one of them calling for reinforcement through their radio and hoped that they wouldn’t die as Hide-san dragged him to the classroom by the wrist.

They reached the kitchen quietly and quickly, and he was greeted by the worried faces of his classmates. Except for Seri-san who were drinking coffee calmly as they waited for him.

“Harry-kun! Oh, we thought… we thought you weren’t coming back.” Takizawa-san hugged him briefly before she let go and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. Her tears stopped the moment she saw his blood, and she touched his head with a trembling hand. “Y-you’re bleeding. What happened? We thought we heard someone saying that there… there was a ghoul inside the school?”

When Harry nodded grimly, some of the girls cried and latched on to Seri-san, who were actually frowning now.

“Can we escape?” The level-headed girl asked him seriously, and Harry nodded. The girls looked relieved until he opened his mouth again and explained the situation to them. The ghoul and the investigators were fighting just outside of their class, but if they were being really quick about it, they might be able to get out safely.

“Let’s try it then.” The girl said, looking at her friends. “Can you run? If you can’t we’re going to leave you though.”

Harry laughed awkwardly as his other classmates nodded at Seri-san, wiping their tears with a determined face. What a blunt way to raise someone’s spirits.

“Alright then. Takizawa-san?”

The girl nodded too, trying to be strong. “I’m ready.”

“What about the others though?” One quiet girl timidly asked him, and Hide-san grimaced as he answered the girl.

“Well, about them… they’ve kind of went on first.”

Hearing his answer, his class leader fumed angrily and stomped her foot down. “They left to save their own lives while forgetting about us? Those guys…! I’ll make them pay!”

Harry laughed uneasily at the threat, knowing that the girl will really make the rest of the class regret ever leaving them behind. Quietly, he lead them all to sneak outside, intending to flee while the investigators are occupying the ghoul’s attention, but the scenes outside were not what they were expecting.

Harry’s blood ran cold as he saw three of the investigators’ bodies scattered on the ground. One of them had his stomach torn open, one of them missing their head, and one was alive but losing one leg.

_He wouldn’t be alive for long if he didn’t get proper treatment soon though_ , Harry noted with dread seeing how much blood the man was losing. How could all these happened in such a short period of time? They weren’t even gone for two minutes.

He watched as the ghoul was stalking her last prey—a female investigator whose legs looked broken as she sat on the ground, clutching her gun in front of her as the ghoul stepped closer. She fired twice, but both bullets were deflected easily by the ghoul as the ones who were supposed to distract her with the close combats attacks were all down already.

One of the girls stifled a gasp seeing the horrifying scene, and someone whimpered quietly. The quiet sound was apparently loud enough for the ghoul, and she paused in her tracks to turn her heads toward the origin of the sound. Takizawa-san started to hyperventilate as the ghoul scanned them with her eerie eyes and he gulped, standing protectively in front of her.

The ghoul’s eyes lit up in recognition as her eyes landed on him.

“Hm? Little girl, you’re still here? I thought you’ve run away already.” The ghoul lowered her mask and smiled sweetly as she took a step towards him. Harry’s thoughts raced as he tried to think of the proper course of action. It would be impossible for them to run now, there was no way the girls could outrun a ghoul. What could he do? He had to save everyone. He can’t let them die.

“I wouldn’t leave my friends behind.” He said, brows furrowing as he furiously scanned the area for anything of use. He couldn’t use his kagune here, so there was no way he could take the ghoul down with his bare hands.

His eyes finally spotted a sword-shaped quinque on the ground just several meters away from their location just when he started to get desperate. It must have belonged to one of the dead investigators.

His heartbeat quickened with adrenaline as he watched the ghoul like a hawk, waiting for the perfect moment to dive and grab the sword. At least with that weapon, he could hold her back just for a moment to allow Hide-san to take the girls out to safety.

“Aw, how sweet. Pity that you’ll be dead soon after this. Ah, but you’ll be able to die with your friends now. Aren’t you glad?” The ghoul smiled, raising her kagune upwards threateningly, making the girls screamed in fright and huddled closer to him.

Hearing the ghoul’s words, the only investigator who could still fight fired again from the ground as she screamed at the ghoul, “Leave them alone! Just kill me if you want, but don’t touch the children!”

The ghoul smirked as she looked down on her. “Oh, I will kill you alright, but not before I kill them. You doves just had to go and irritate me, so this is a little payback for you. I want to see your eyes sinking into despair and guilt as I took all these precious children’s lives right in front of you.”

Seeing the ghoul’s attention was occupied with taunting the investigator, Harry huddled closer to Hide-san who were also looking for a way out of the situation they were in.

“Hide-san.” He began quietly. “Please take them outside. I will create an opening for you.”

“Huh?” The blond whispered back, panicking a bit at the _look_ in Harry’s eyes. “What? _Harry_!”

Hide-san was too late to stop him as he ran towards one of the fallen investigator and snatched the sword-shaped quinque he spotted from before. Harry was suddenly glad that he had joined the fencing club as he brandished the weapon in front of him and called out loudly towards the ghoul.

“You,” Harry began nervously but determinedly, his heartbeat sounded like thunder with how loud it was beating as he caught the ghoul’s attention with his loud voice. “Leave my friends alone.”

He gulped as the ghoul turned towards him again. He knew he did not possess much power in term of raw muscle strength, but Touka-san’s martial arts lessons have helped him in improving his speed, reflexes, and fighting senses. If only he could use his kagune, then his defense would be definite and his strength will be enhanced a little, but since he couldn’t, he could only rely on the sword.

Noticing the sword he was holding, the ghoul began to laugh. “What’s that? Ahaha, so adorable! You’re going to fight me with that, when these trained investigators have failed to bring me down? Silly girl, I’m really strong, you know? What can a frail little girl like you do against _me_?”

She laughed loudly in amusement. Harry watched her reaction quietly as he heard cursing from behind him, followed by a couple of sets of footsteps running away and he smiled in relief. At least Hide-san was smart enough to do what he asked him to do. Now he can fight her without any worries.

“No don’t fight her, please run away too!” The investigator yelled at him desperately, but he ignored her plead. Exhaling softly through his mouth, he quickly adopted a stance and readied himself to attack. Though using the quinque gave him an awful feeling when he remembered what they were made of, he’d gladly use them if it’d save his friends’ lives.

And so, Harry took a deep breath and—

—leapt from his position, making a slashing motion towards the still chuckling ghoul whose eyes had widened when she realized just how fast he was approaching her. She jumped back in a hurry, but she was a second too late in her reaction. His sword managed to catch her and slashed her stomach quite deeply.

Awareness entered her eyes as she landed and clutched her bleeding stomach. In an instant, her dolled-up face twisted with an ugly rage.

“I’ll kill you.” The ghoul growled darkly and leapt forward to strike back at him. He blocked her attacks swiftly, finally experiencing the result of his trainings with Touka-san.

The ghoul was strong, but he had the sword and he was not alone in this. The only remaining investigator began to back him up with accurate shots at the ghoul’s back and legs as she cursed at his stubbornness, and the wounds she inflicted managed to slow down the ghoul quite a bit.

_Our speed were almost equal now_ , Harry’s breath hitched as he dodged yet another combination of claws and kicks from the ghoul, which was followed by an attack from her tail-like kagune. He jumped to the side just in time to avoid being permanently mangled by the impact before he leapt back towards her as he extended his sword.

When the ghoul sidestepped his attack, he immediately pulled his sword back and caught the ghoul off guard when he used his leg to kick at the ghoul’s midsection, opening her already-closing wound once again. He looked relieved for a second that he had managed to land a hit on the ghoul, but then the ghoul suddenly backhanded him and he fell to the ground from the impact.

“You little bitch!” The ghoul hissed and was about to stab him with her kagune when something exploded on her back. He looked beyond the ghoul and saw the female investigator pulling back her own quinque with a wince, apparently it being the cause of the explosion.

The ghoul turned towards the investigator with a snarl, and Harry took the opportunity to cut the base of her kagune with his sword. Seeing her kagune falling to the floor with a loud thump, the ghoul screamed in rage and kicked his stomach, sending him flying into a wall.

Correction; _through_ a wall. The force of her kick had managed to destroy the wall with his body. Some tables broke as he landed on them, and he got up just as he saw the ghoul clawing the chest of the female investigator.

“No!” He screamed as the color red began to bloom on the investigator’s white clothing and she fell backwards with a loud sound. He closed his eyes shut, praying that the investigator was still alive somehow. He wanted to check on her, but there was no way he could with the ghoul on the way.

Damnit, when is the reinforcement coming? Why are they so late?

He pushed himself back up and contemplated his situation. His back-up was gone and his sword was thrown somewhere when the ghoul kicked him. His chances of staying alive had dropped down to zero, then.

He thought about using his kagune, but he was afraid of being witnessed using it. If he survived the ghoul but later killed by the reinforcement (who will surely think that he was a ghoul too after seeing his kagune), then there was no point in winning at all. He supposed he could use magic to save himself in this situation, but he didn’t bring his wand.

Damnit!

No, no. He couldn’t die here.

He watched as the ghoul walked towards him with a cruel smirk.

“Your turn, then.”

Harry narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Yeah right. As if he endured Touka-san’s training-from-hell only to be killed here by this insignificant ghoul. Harry thought about fighting her hand-to-hand, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to compare to a real ghoul’s strength. What should he do now?

Suddenly, a piece of rubble came flying and hit the back of the ghoul’s head. Startled, Harry’s eyes quickly searched the direction where the stone came from and his eyes widened. There Hide-san stood at the other side of the corridor with an armful of rubbles in his hands, looking straight at the ghoul with no hesitation at all in his eyes.

_That… that idiot! What’s he thinking, coming back here?_

“Hey!! Fight me, you stupid ghoul! Leave the kid alone!!” The blond taunted as he threw yet another rubble at the ghoul, who snarled at him too.

“Fine! If you want to die that badly, then die, human!” She roared and leapt towards Hide-san, whose eyes widened as he dropped his armful of rubbles and immediately tried to run away.

“Don’t touch him!” He screamed at the ghoul who ignored him in favor of running after his friend. Harry’s heart felt like it was stopping as he too raced towards the ghoul, pumping his legs faster as he cursed the fact that he was still wearing the platform shoes of his maid uniform and praying that he could make it in time.

“Oh shit, _oh shit_!” Hide-san cursed as he dived into the ground to avoid the ghoul’s clawed hand and Harry suddenly tackled her just as those claws were about to pierce his friend’s body. They crashed through the big window and flew outside the building.

“Y-you maggot! Stop getting in my way!” The ghoul snarled at him and he punched her face in mid-air, pushing her so that she landed first to the ground. They landed quite hard and rolled on the dirt until the effect stopped, then the ghoul kneed his stomach in retaliation and threw him off.

Head aching and disoriented, Harry thought that he heard screaming. He shook his head to clear it, and it was then he realized that he had brought the ghoul where the people were evacuating themselves.

Bloody hell, he was an idiot.

“Get out of here!” He yelled at them who were looking at them with horror.

“Harry, focus on your opponent!” A female voice yelled at him and Harry absentmindedly recognized it as Touka-san’s voice, before a clawed hand came and tried to tear his face off. He dodged at the last second and rolled on the ground to avoid being kicked by the ghoul, but then the ghoul tackled him and it turned into a brawl.

He winced, struggling with the ghoul who were looking like she had lost her mind.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill all of you! How dare you do that to me?!” She yelled at him and squeezed his neck. He used his hands and tried to stop her from completely crushing his neck, but she was too strong and he found himself unable to breathe.

The crowd screamed for his name anxiously, but nobody dared to come help him. Harry didn’t blame them. They were just normal humans after all.

His vision blurred from the lack of oxygen, but he could still see Shouji trying to help him with Touka-san trying to hold him back from the corner of his eyes and Harry huffed a laugh. Thank gods Touka-san was there to stop him. He’ll get found out by everyone if he tried to help him.

With a newfound strength, Harry clawed the ghoul’s eye and kicked her off him. He had just gotten back to his feet when a voice called out to him.

“Harry!! Catch this!”

He saw Hide-san from the second floor of the partially destroyed building, throwing something at him. It was… the sword!

Harry’s heart raced as he tried to reach for the sword from the air, the ghoul hot on his heels with her still recovering kagune ready to pierce his back. His fingers caught hold of the hilt of the sword just as her kagune scratched his side and he swiftly turned around and thrusted the sword at her with his eyes tightly shut, hoping that he came out the survivor.

He felt the sword stabbing something as the side of his stomach burned with pain. Bit by bit, he opened his closed eyes and to his horror and shock, the first thing he saw when he regained his sight was the sword—which had lodged itself firmly on the ghoul’s heart.

His hands trembled and his breathing became rough, yet he couldn’t seem to let go of the hilt of the sword even as the ghoul staggered back, dislodging the blade from her chest as she clutched her wound with a stunned expression.

“N-no…” She whispered. “It’s not supposed to be like… this…”

With that last words, she fell to his knees and then face down to the ground. The silence was deafening as the crowd processed what had just happened.

“He… he won…” Someone muttered in astonishment after some time passed and the ghoul stayed unmoving on the ground, before everyone suddenly cheered. “Harry won! He killed the ghoul!”

They ran towards him and smothered him with cheers, tears of gratitude, and applause, but all Harry could see was the body on the ground—bloody and unmoving and _lifeless_ because of him. He looked at the bloodied blade in his grip, and horrified, Harry dropped it to the ground before he fell to his knees and promptly threw up.

His breath hitched and he heaved again, though nothing came out.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

Somehow, this felt different from when he vanquished Voldemort—even though they were the same act of taking someone else’s life. Maybe because he didn’t directly take the Dark Lord’s life with his hand? He could still feel the sensation of the blade piercing her flesh and—oh, Merlin. He just killed someone again and they were _cheering_ for him. This was so _wrong_.

The crowd gathered around him immediately and was asking him if he was alright, being all concerned and trying to help him but he couldn’t answer them, still in shock from all the events that had just happened. He heard the crowd parting as they were being shoved harshly before suddenly something blocked his vision.

“Harry.” He felt something warm engulfing him and he looked up to see Shouji’s neck. The blond was apparently burying his face in Harry’s hair, but Harry found himself unable to push him away.

“I’m so sorry.” Shouji muttered against his head. “I’m so sorry for leaving you. I’m so glad you’re alive.”

The blond held on tighter, and before Harry realized what he was doing, his hands had reached up to hold Shouji’s back too. A moment passed as he relaxed against Shouji’s body before he realized that someone was standing beside them. When he looked up, he saw Hinami’s tearful eyes and Touka-san’s concerned face staring down at him.

“Touka-san…”

Hearing his voice, the girl kneeled down and hugged him too.

“You shouldn’t have gone through that. I’m sorry.” The girl whispered as she wiped his mouth with her hand. Harry wanted to tell her to stop because she’ll get dirty, but the words wouldn’t come out. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.

“N-no… I don’t…” Harry shook his head, finally regaining his bearing. “I don’t regret it.”

He said shakily and Touka-san released him with a worried frown. Harry knew that she thought that he was lying, but he actually wasn’t. Though he did felt really bad, guilty, and dirty, he didn’t regret killing the ghoul one bit even though it was completely accidental. She threatened to kill his friends. He didn’t regret doing it to her.

Harry accepted Shouji’s help to get him up, and Yoriko-san gave him a bottle of water to clean his mouth. He smiled at her wanly and accepted the water before she suddenly launched herself at him too, crying in relieve.

“I-I thought she was going to…” The girl hiccupped. Harry patted her back comfortingly as he waited for her to calm down. She sniffed once before letting go of him, and everyone stared in shock at the red stain on her uniform.

It was not her blood.

“H-Harry-kun! You’re bleeding! Oh gods!”

Harry looked down on his side and then remembered that the ghoul managed to graze him rather deeply before she died. With the realization, came the previously unnoticed pain and his knees buckled. Shouji instinctively caught his body and supported him so that he could stay upright.

As everyone began to panic and called an ambulance over, a deep voice suddenly ricocheted around them.

“Step aside, please. Let us through.” The voice said with urgency, and the crowd parted to let him in. The man was large with a wide chin and a weird beard. From his clothing and the large quinque he was holding, Harry assumed he must be an investigator.

_The reinforcement_ , Harry noted absentmindedly as he tried to stay conscious.

The man immediately crouched down to inspect the dead ghoul, and Harry felt a little angry that he didn’t ask for the state of his comrades first though he knew that the man was only making sure that the threat had been truly eliminated first.

“Who did this?” The man asked, looking at the crowd who looked at him in return. The man turned to him, his eyes widening as he looked at him with some kind of surprise and respect, and Harry had to look away from his gaze. The man then noticed that he was hurt and called over one of the CCG medics to their side.

“Come on, let us treat your wounds.” The gentle white-wearing medic led him to the ambulance and Harry complied, still being supported by Shouji’s steadying arms. When they were almost there, Harry suddenly stopped and turned back to the investigator with the weird beard.

“One of your people is still alive on the second floor. He lost a leg. Well, at least he was still breathing the last time I saw him. I don’t know if he’s still alive right now or not though. He lost a lot of blood.” Harry rambled, his clenched hands trembling weakly from the pain as the man turned his attention towards him. “And the woman… she got her chest clawed by the ghoul, but she might still be alive too… I think. Please help her, she saved my life.”

The man’s eyes widened and he turned back to talk to the other paramedics, instructing them to save his only remaining colleagues as the police forces ushered the people to back away from the ghoul’s body as several investigators examined her.

Shouji looked really uneasy being surrounded by so many doves though, and Harry understood his desire to leave so he asked him to get his bag from the science lab where they all put their bags in with Hinami. The blond left after asking him he was sure he was alright alone _thrice_ and Harry huffed as he left, watching the investigators bustling around as they worked while the medic treated his wounds gently.

The CCG medic were being extra gentle as he was still a child in their eyes and he didn’t want to cause him any unnecessary pain, but Harry secretly thought that it was a bit pointless since he gave him anesthetic anyway and he currently couldn’t feel any pain.

His eyes wandered around the school as the kind doctor worked on him, watching as some parents began to arrive to pick up their children.

He heard a loud noise and turned his head to see a redheaded nurse dragging Hide-san to one of their makeshift infirmaries to treat his bleeding hands and knees that he apparently scrapped pretty harshly when he avoided the ghoul’s attack before. He chuckled when he saw Kaneki-san scolding the protesting blond into submission, and the older boy smiled back timidly when their eyes met.

Kaneki-san turned and said something to Hide-san and said something to his friend before he jogged towards him. Harry’s heart beat faster as the black haired person that he was crushing on got nearer, and he lowered his head to hide his nervousness when the older boy finally reached him.

“Harry-kun.” Kaneki-san breathed out, before he paused and squirmed awkwardly in front of him. Harry squirmed too, not knowing what his crush wanted with him and the doctor chuckled in amusement watching their interaction. Both he and Kaneki-san blushed at this, and the doctor shook his head with a smile.

“What’s wrong, Kaneki-san?” Harry asked after he calmed himself down. He could face a life-threatening situation kind-of-calmly, but in front of someone he liked he turned into this weakling. How humiliating.

“No, it’s… Hide said you saved his life.” Kaneki-san continued with an awkward but genuine smile—the same one that Harry fell for the first time he saw him. “Thank you so much for saving him.”

“Oh! No, no! Hide-san saved mine too, Kaneki-san. More than once. He’s the reason that I’m still alive right now, I should be the one thanking him— _Ah_!”

Harry stood up and shook his head, forgetting that the doctor was still in the process of sewing his side and he winced in pain when the doctor’s needle stabbed the area that wasn’t affected by the anesthetic. He sat back down with a sheepish smile when the doctor gave him an admonishing look and Kaneki-san gave him a worried one.

“Kaneki-san really cared for Hide-san, huh?” Harry asked with a small smile and the other boy looked down with a serious look as he nodded quietly.

“Hide’s very important to me. He’s my first and best friend. He’s always stick with me through everything and honestly… I don’t know if I can survive this world this long without him. That’s why I’m really grateful to you, Harry-kun.” Kaneki-san smiled faintly before he caught himself and he blushed in embarrassment. “Ah, don’t tell that to the idiot though, it’ll go into his head.”

Harry’s laughed lightly as he nodded in agreement. After talking a little more with the other, Kaneki-san waved goodbye at him and went back to his friend’s side. Harry watched him go with a smile and the doctor smiled at him too.

“He’s a sweet kid. Your friend?” The doctor said and Harry turned to him with a faint blush.

“Yes… yes he is.” He answered, making the doctor laugh at his shyness. The doctor put his equipment away and wrapped his sewed up wounds with a clean bandage.

After everything was done, he patted his head and told him to take it easy and don’t move too much until everything healed. Harry nodded and the man left him alone to wait for Shouji to come back after he draped a blanket on his shoulder.

He went back to observing everyone else worked as someone’s shadow suddenly covered him.

It was the big investigator.

“My name is Shinohara Yukinori.” The man began in a confident but soothing tone, smiling at him with genuine warmth and concern.

“I’m Harry Potter, nice to meet you…”

Harry looked at him guardedly even as he introduced himself too, not knowing the intention of the man even if he looked kind. Now that he was out of the life-and-death situation, being alone with an investigator was really intimidating. He still remembered the crazy old man from his first encounter with the CCG, and that was not something he wanted to experience ever again.

“Are you alright, Potter-kun? Your friends told me what happened. It must have been a great shock to you isn’t it?” The man said, looking at his heavily bandaged head and neck.

Harry stared at him in silence, not knowing what to respond. After a moment, he licked his lips and tightened his grip on the blanket around his shoulders.

“Not really. I’ve been through something similar to this before.” Harry told him awkwardly. “…How about the other investigators, Shinohara-san?”

Shinohara-san sighed deeply and Harry’s heart sunk again. “We couldn’t save the man, but the woman was still alive thanks to your information. We’re still trying to save her life right now.”

Harry looked down, guilt settling in his chest.

“I’m sorry… I couldn’t save him.”

“Please don’t apologize. It’s us who should apologize to you.” Shinohara-san dropped his smile and bowed deeply to him, leaving Harry to stare at him in shock as he was not expecting the man to do that. “We have failed you and endangered you and your friends’ lives because of our incompetence. For that, we ask for your forgiveness. We hope that you can find it in you to forgive us.”

The man kept bowing, his eyes closed to show his seriousness and Harry felt all his tension leaving him. The man was asking for his forgiveness earnestly, so he should also respond with earnestness.

“I forgive you.” Harry said, watching as the man finally straightened himself up after his acceptance. Silence stretched between them until Harry finally opened his mouth again. “Shinohara-san? Who was she?”

The man looked at him in silence before he sat down beside him with a heavy sigh.

“Her name is Migiwa Yukari. We called her ‘ _Butterfly’_ because she always flitted from one place to another, causing troubled whenever she went by kidnapping beautiful females to be made her next meal.” Shinohara-san began, looking at his still bustling coworkers. “She was identified as a lower B-rank because there’re not many sighting of her in combat so we sent a lower A-rank team to dispatch her, but she turned out to be much stronger than we expected. The one who called for reinforcement said that she might actually be an upper A-rank.”

_An upper A-rank. She was an upper A-rank._

Harry shivered as he thought about how lucky he was to still be alive.

The ghoul was clearly stronger than him—he just won because she was too easy to enrage and she clearly underestimated him. He won because of her arrogance, not because he was strong. If she were a level-headed and calculating fighter, he probably would be the one lying in the morgue right now.

Harry gulped nervously and turned to the man with a questioning look.

“Is it alright for you to tell me all these?” _They must be classified or something right? You don’t give civilians information like that, normally._

“Well, no. But I think there’s no harm in telling you. I mean, you’re the one who took her down, right?” The man smiled at him as he stood up again and searched his suits’ pocket for something. “You did a good job for someone so young. You can come call this number if you ever become interested in becoming an investigator. I’ll make you my apprentice. I think you’ll be great with us.”

Shinohara-san handed him a card, and Harry took it tentatively. The card said, ‘ _Shinohara Yukinori, Special Class Ghoul Investigator’_ and Harry almost dropped the card in shock. The man was so high up in the rank, and he just _bowed_ to him just a minute ago. Merlin.

“You’re surprised, huh?” The man laughed heartily seeing his reaction. “When I heard that a ghoul was attacking a school full of children, I volunteered to come. No matter what rank I am, I still can’t bear to see children being hurt.”

Harry stayed silent as he fingered the card, and the man gave him a little smile as he patted his head.

“Think about it, okay? You can call that number anytime, whenever you’re ready.”

Shinohara-san left, and Harry was left alone to contemplate on things. He looked down at the card again and shook his head. Even if some of them were good people, Harry couldn’t trust them. Besides, there was no way he could become an investigator—someone whose job description was to _take_ lives.

Even if they were taking lives to save others, but it’s still too much for him. An accident was an accident—he wasn’t even trying to win against the Butterfly before, he just wanted to buy some time until the reinforcement came—but intentional killing… he couldn’t do that.

And instead of consoling him or offering a therapy or something like that, (that’s what the authorities were supposed to offer to people like him who had just been through something traumatizing right?) he complimented him for doing a ‘good job’. Maybe he’s just overthinking things, but wasn’t that a bit… it’s like they didn’t think of ghouls like they were people too.

He shook his head and wore a smile when Shouji and Hinami finally came back after the Special Class Investigator left.

He chuckled when he saw Shouji bristling like a wary cat and still not letting his guard down even though Shinohara-san had left already. It seemed that they were actually already done getting his things and were just waiting at the side because they didn’t want to interact with the investigator.

Hinami let go of the blond’s hand when she saw him all bandaged up and ran to his side immediately, hugging him in relieve.

“I was really scared back then… Shouji and Nee-chan were arguing too.” The girl mumbled, her voice muffled by the material of his clothes. “I thought we’re going to lose you. You’re alright now?”

“I’m fine now, thanks for worrying. Don’t worry, Hinami-chan, I’m tougher than I look.” Harry grinned, relieved when she smiled back shyly at him. Shouji ruffled his hair and huffed moodily before he handed him his clothes.

“Yes, well, you gave us a scare.” The ghoul said with a small sigh. “I have your things. Go change your clothes first, then we’ll take you home. Reporters have started to gather here, so hurry up if you don’t want to be interviewed by them.”

“Ah, I’ll better hurry up then. Reporters are scary.” Harry smiled at him and the girl, who giggled lightly. “What about Touka-san and Yoriko-san?”

“The human’s mom came to pick her up and insisted on driving Touka-chan too. She said to tell you that she was sorry she couldn’t say bye to you first.” Shouji shrugged before he rummaged one of the bags he had and pulled out the bundle of cookies he made that morning.

“What’s this, Harry? Why are you bringing cookies with you?” The ghoul asked, scrunching his nose at the scent of the cookies.

Harry’s eyes widened when he saw the cookies.

“Ah, that’s right! I forgot!” Harry snatched the bag and the pack of cookies from the blond before he scanned the crowds for the person he liked. He found him standing not far from his location, supporting a certain blond who were insisting that he can walk by himself.

He ignored Shouji’s shouts for him to slow down and dashed towards the two humans, wincing when he felt the still-healing injuries on his side reopening. The black haired boy’s eyes widened when he saw him running closer.

“Harry-kun! You shouldn’t be running, what if you reopened your wounds? We’re just about to come to say goodbye to you.” Kaneki-san told him with a light scolding, but Harry didn’t hear the first part as he could only focus on the word ‘goodbye’.

“You’re going back already?” Harry tried to not let his disappointment show on his face as the older boy nodded and adjusted his friend’s position.

“Yes, Hide’s injured and we still have homework, so…” he trailed off.

“Ah. Then, please be careful on your way home.” Harry nodded in understanding. He clutched the paper bag on his hands and looked down to his feet anxiously. “I’m sorry that today turned out to be such a disaster, even though both you and Hide-san have gone through the trouble to come here.”

He felt a hand ruffling his hair and looked up to see Hide-san smiling down at him. “What are you talking about? It’s not your fault that a ghoul decided to crash to the party, Harry. Besides, we had fun. Right, Kaneki?”

Said person nodded his head firmly.

“Of course! Also…” The black haired boy scratched his slightly reddening cheek nervously with his free hand. “We would like it very much if you still want to hang out with us after this, Harry-kun. Would you like that?”

“I… oh… I… _yes_! Yes I would love to!” Harry stuttered, then finally louder as his confidence grew. Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing, it was like a dream. Even after everything that happened, they still want to be friends with him.

“Such enthusiasm!” Hide-san teased before he noticed the bag Harry was clutching and said curiously. “What’s that, Harry?”

Harry perked up and tidied the bag before he handed it to the black haired boy. “Oh, right! It’s your jumper, Kaneki-san. And a little thank you gift from me. I made it myself, so if it’s not to your liking…”

Kaneki-san smiled, seeing the package of cookies and opened it. The delicious aroma filled the air, and both Hide-san and the black haired boy’s eyes widened as they popped one of the cookies into their mouth.

“Are you kidding? This stuff is great! Now you definitely have to hang out with us more even if you don’t want to, just for more of these little babies.” The blond human said as he chewed the cookie enthusiastically.

“Don’t listen to him, Harry-kun.” Kaneki-san smiled at him gently. “But, he’s right. This is really good. Thank you for the gift.”

Harry smiled back shyly at the older boy and threw Hide-san a glare when he sniggered.

He received both Kaneki-san and Hide-san’s LINE IDs after that, with the blond saying that they wouldn’t mind if he messaged or called them any time of the day for anything at all and Harry smiled, thinking to himself that despite everything else that happened, maybe it wasn’t that much of a bad day after all.

**Next Chapter: Storm**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terrible ending is terrible. I cringe every time I read that part.
> 
> You know, I planned this story to have only 11 chapters but I kept on adding more and more contents to this. If this goes on it’s going to end up having 20+ chapters and I don’t know if I could handle writitng a story that long tbh.
> 
> *Tokyo Ghoul began its serialization in 2011 and LINE was also launched in Japan in 2011. It became really popular in such a short time, so I make both Kaneki and Hide use it eheh.
> 
> There will be one other chapter before we enter the beginning of the manga, I think. Or if I can cram it, then we will enter it next chapter! I’m so excited for it aaah!!! 
> 
> As always if you find any mistakes please tell me and I’ll fix it. I hope you’re satisfied with the chapter, thanks for reading! Also, do you know that this little story have almost 10 thousand views on FFnet? That’s really amazing, thank you everyone!


	8. Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Re-upload 08/10/2016:** I added the second half of the chapter that was previously unfinished because I was too lazy to write it teehee ☆ I was half-assing towards the end too, by the way. Very sorry if it looks a bit choppy.
> 
> For old readers, you can just **skip until after the first break**!
> 
> Just to clarify if I didn’t make it clear in the previous chapters: **Harry’s kagune is a full body armor that covered him from head to toe.** I imagined that it looked kind of like **Aqua’s Keyblade Armor** , but less fancy-looking than hers.
> 
> *This chapter is not edited at all so there might be silly mistakes here and there. Please tell me if you find such mistakes!

Harry jumped high and flipped in a rotating motion the air, avoiding the tail-like kagune that was going to mash him into the ground. He twisted his body so his feet could land on the wall before he propelled himself towards his opponent and aimed a kick at the other’s face. His movements were too fast for his opponents to evade, but the other didn’t seem surprised by his actions and calmly put up his arms to block his kick.

Clicking his tongue in irritation at his failed attempts, Harry leapt back again to avoid being thrown on the floor. He landed soundlessly and gracefully fifteen meters away from the other and proceed to observing the other’s condition, feeling somewhat pleased when he saw the other’s arm were bent and broken from the force of his kick. Touka-san’s training-regime-from-hell was proving itself to be very effective. Adding the strength boost he got from using his kagune, Harry was starting to think that he might be able to best his opponent.

He saw his opponent setting his broken arm back with his other hand, before he suddenly disappeared from view. Feeling the killing intention from behind, Harry quickly bended his body forward and a clawed hand was suddenly thrusting where his head was only a second ago.

Cursing, Harry flipped his body again and tried to kick the other’s shin but failed when the other quickly jumped and used his kagune to slam the side of his stomach, causing him to be thrown so far he hit the wall on the other side of the hallway and fell onto the ground, clutching his stinging side tightly.

Harry grimaced. Even though he was protected by his kagune, he could certainly feel the force behind that attack very, very much. In fact, he was certain that some of his ribs were broken. And he was one hundred percent sure that the other was holding back his strength, too. He dreaded to think if the other was using his full power.

 _Good thing that he brought a Star Grass Salve with him. Maybe he should stock up on Invigoration Draught. Or maybe some Strengthening Solution and Skele-Gro? Definitely some Skele-Gro though, my goodness. And stronger pain-relieving potion too_ , he thought absently as he tried to stand back up and continue the fight—before he found his limbs trembling and he fell back down face first. Grunting, he rolled into a position that minimized the pain on his side before his kagune suddenly dissipated against his will.

“Okay, that’s enough for today.” A female voice called out sharply and Harry could hear a frantic footsteps approaching him in a hurry before someone kneeled beside him and supported his upper body so he could sit down.

“Harry! You’re okay? Was that too much for you?” Shouji asked him anxiously, and Harry wheezed out a small laugh and shoved his handsome face away.

“It’s fine. It’s the point of this spar, Shouji.” He waved the blond’s concern off before a wave of pain hit him again and he winced. “You were holding back, though.”

“Well, I was worried! What if I break you?” Shouji frowned and yelped when a hand suddenly hit him in the head.

“He’s not that fragile, Idiot Fox.” Touka-san huffed in exasperation, ignoring the blond’s glare as she stared at into the black haired boy’s pained face. “He got a point though, Harry. I don’t really understand why but your body is somehow… _softer_ than ours. Your kagune certainly helped, but it can only do so much. You’re already strong enough in terms of power, but we have to work on your dodging and blocking techniques later. Your weak defenses won’t be a problem if no one can touch you. For now though, you should rest.”

“Yes. Thank you as always, Touka-san. Shouji, you too.” Harry smiled as he was helped up by both ghouls. He suddenly remembered about the blond’s arm though and turned towards him in concern. “Is your arm okay? I’m sorry I broke it.”

“Nah, it’s fine. It’s healed already. See?” Shouji grinned and flailed his arm around to make his point but it accidentally hit Touka-san in the face and Harry gasped as he saw Touka-san’s patience snapping.

“You asked for this, you Shitty Fox. Prepare yourself!” The girl growled and leapt towards the blond with her fist ready to punch him. Harry was shoved to the side by the blond as he cursed and avoided the punch, but then the next attacks came in such a high speed that Harry could barely see it and the blond was already beaten to the ground.

“Ow! Ow! Stop, Touka-chan!” The blond cried as he avoided the next barrage of attacks. “I’m already exhausted!”

“If you’re already exhausted from that friendly spar, then maybe you should up your training a little!” The girl retorted and continued on anyway. Harry let out a small laugh and decided to watch them fight for a while, before he remembered the time.

“Is it alright if I go up first?” Harry asked his friends, who unsurprisingly didn’t hear him at all. Huffing with a small smile, Harry decided to leave them alone to take a shower upstairs.

He passed Irimi-san on his way up and he gave a little wave and smile-slash-grimace of pain for her. She greeted him back and commended him for his hard work before she went back to help Yoshimura-san with serving the customers. Upstairs, he immediately headed towards the bathroom and stripped off his clothing before he turned the hot waters on and scrubbed himself clean of sweat and dirt.

The hot water felt absolutely divine on his skin and Harry wanted nothing more than to just stand under the shower forever, but unfortunately he had other plans after that so with a heavy heart he turned off the shower and dried himself with a fluffy towel before he rubbed the Star Grass Salve he brought on his aching ribs to relieve some of the pain.

Feeling the pain steadily fading, he breathed a sigh in relief before he quickly dressed himself in a warm and comfortable outfit and went back downstairs into the café—just in time to see the café’s front door opening as two of his favorite humans entered inside.

A smile bloomed on his face as he cheerfully waved to catch their attention.

“Kaneki-kun! Hide-kun!” He waved at them enthusiastically.

“Harry-kun.” The other black haired boy greeted back with his own smile, and Harry beamed in happiness seeing that smile directed at him.

The day after the cultural festival incident, both older boys had come and visit him in his apartment to cheer him up for being cooped up because of his injuries and Hide-kun all but forced him that he changed his “-san” suffix into something that sounded less stuffy, so after he lost the argument against the cheerful blond, Kaneki- _san_ became Kaneki- _kun_ and Hide- _san_ became Hide- _kun._

Harry was kind of surprised that they accepted him into their circle so easily though, since they didn’t seem like the type to let others get close easily. Even if he _did_ save their lives before, in his opinion this and that are a completely different thing, but they’ve actually been texting and calling each other almost every day—they even met up every other day to hang out together too. Harry was confused by the easy acceptance, but he was really happy to be able to become friends with them that he didn’t dwell on it that much.

When they went to hang out though, usually it was to play together at Hide-kun’s current favorite arcade or the bookstore that Kaneki-kun frequent a lot, so this time Harry wanted to introduce Anteiku to them.

Well, Harry actually wanted to introduce his ghoul friends to his human friends, but he was quite certain that his ghoul friends wouldn’t appreciate it what with their opinion on humans, so he had to settle with this for now.

“Did you have trouble finding this place?” Harry asked as he led them to an unoccupied table.

Kaneki-kun shook his head with a small chuckle. “No, don’t worry about it. Did you wait long? Hide was distracted by a cat on the way and insisted that we pet it first.”

“But it’s not my fault! It was looking at me with its big, blue eyes. I can’t not pet it!” The blond pouted, and both Harry and Kaneki-kun had to suppress a laugh at the face that he made.

Harry had learned during the past few months that sometimes Hide-kun was a very impulsive person. If the whim to do something suddenly struck him, then he _will_ do it right at that very moment. Sometimes it called for trouble, but Harry was starting to learn how to deal with that and Kaneki-kun had been dealing with it for _years_. Besides, his impulsiveness was also one of the traits that makes Hide-kun endearing.

“Sooo this is it? The café you like to go to in your free time?” The blond asked as he looked around the shop appreciatively. “The décor’s nice! It’s homey.”

“I know, right? I come here almost every day, actually. Shouji tutored me twice a week here too. Ah, Shouji is the blondie you both met at the cultural festival back then, by the way.” Harry explained as the three of them put down their bags at one of the empty seats on their table.

He smiled as Irimi-san came by and gave them the menu after a warm greeting. He replied to her greeting and told her that they might take some time to decide on their orders, so she went back to the counter and told him to call her when they’ve decided.

“Ah.” The blond paled, shuddering as he remembered Shouji threatening him. “He’s a university student, isn’t he? How did the two of you became friends anyway? He’s so _scary_.”

Harry laughed at his reaction. “He’s not that scary, actually. He’s just a little big and his hairstyle makes him look like a delinquent, but he’s actually pretty obedient. Well, maybe he’s a bit possessive and protective—very easy to provoke too, but otherwise he’s like… an annoying puppy who followed you around?”

Harry snorted to himself in amusement at his comparison, because he thought that was pretty accurate. Shouji was more annoying than dangerous anyway, and he’ll stop being annoying if you become stern with him too—just like an attention-seeking puppy.

He almost jumped when he heard a giggling sound from the distance—apparently Irimi-san had heard him and found what he said hilarious. Harry blushed, embarrassed at getting caught badmouthing someone like that. He kept forgetting that she had a really sharp pair of ears. It doesn’t matter if she told Shouji about what he said though, because it’s the truth!

“Him? A _puppy_?” Hide-kun stared at him with incredulity like he had lost his mind. “Maybe you should get your eyes checked, Harry. A puppy is cute, he is _not_.”

“Hide! That was rude.” Kaneki-kun admonished even as he let out a small laugh. A smile tugged on his lips as he flipped the menu book. “That’s true though. I think he looked more cool than cute.”

Now it was Harry’s turn to shot the black haired boy an incredulous look.

“Which part of him is _cool_?” Harry raised his voice in befuddlement.

“I don’t know… he’s tall and stylish. And his face is really nice too, don’t you think?” The grey eyed boy shrugged.

“I think that your face is nicer than his though?” Harry blurted out before he could stop himself. His face flamed as he realized what he had just say and both Hide-kun and Kaneki-kun stared at him in surprise before suddenly the blond broke out in laughter.

Oh god. Kill him.

Harry wanted to go downstairs and ask Touka-san to beat him up until he lost his memories. That was just plain stupid and embarrassing. Thankfully, Kaneki-kun didn’t seem to realize the true meaning behind his words and just took it as a normal compliment.

“That was very sweet of you, Harry-kun, but I’m really not. Your friend is definitely the better looking one. Thanks anyway though.” The black haired boy laughed lightly and Harry frowned. The other looked like he truly believed that he was unattractive when he looked that nice, what the heck. Okay, maybe he was a bit plain and unnoticeable with his unfashionable clothes, but you can’t deny that he was handsome! And no, that wasn’t his little crush talking.

He was about to open his mouth to convince Kaneki-kun that he truly meant what he said when he heard tapping sounds on the glass window beside him. He turned his head to check what was making that sound when to his surprise, he saw a small puffball tapping the glass with its beak and Harry gasped.

“ _Pig_!” He exclaimed in a mix surprise and excitement as he stood from his seat. The small owl also perked up in delight when he saw how enthusiastic Harry was to see him and flapped eagerly in front of the window as if hurrying him up to come outside and greet him.

Both Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun turned toward the window in confusion and amazement.

“Pig?” The blond asked, looking at him like he had lost his mind. “That’s an owl, Harry. Not a pig. And is that a _letter_ tied to its leg?”

“ _Of course_ I know that he’s an owl! Pig is his name. He’s my friend’s.” Harry explained distractedly as he realized what the blond had just said to him and his eyes zoomed in on Pig’s legs. _A letter!_ He gasped in anticipation. It might be the reply from his friends that he had been waiting for _months_ now!

“I’m sorry, Kaneki-kun, Hide-kun! I have to go outside for a minute!” Without waiting for their answer, Harry ran outside in a hurry, passing a confused Koma-san on his way out. He disregarded the fact that he his clothing was not warm enough to go out to in the winter’s cold night and stormed outside to greet Pig who flew right to him and hit his chest before he snuggled up to him in happiness.

Harry laughed at the Scops owl’s enthusiasm and let it snuggled up to him for a bit.

“Good job on making it here by yourself. Are you tired? Is the letter for me?” Harry asked him friendly and the owl hooted eagerly as if agreeing with him. Harry smiled and took the letter from the little owl’s leg. There were only one of them, signed from R.W.

Harry smiled and decided to open it, only to frown when he saw what was in the letter.

“‘ _Dear Harry, I hope you’ll rest in peace’_ …?” Harry read aloud in confusion and flipped the letter to see if there are anything written on the back. Finding none of that, Harry flipped the letter back front and frowned. “That can’t be it. He hoped that I’ll rest in peace? What does that even mean?”

“It means that you’re going to die because I’m. Going. To. _Kill._ You!”

Harry’s eyes widened as he turned around at the sounds of a very familiar and very angry voice. There, standing just a few feet from him was an enraged Hermione Granger, the snow falling about the place making her looked more like a vengeful spirit than a human.

“Hermione?!” Harry gaped as he exclaimed in surprise as his legs instinctively backed away from the frightening sight. “Why are you here?”

“Why am I here? _Why am I here_? Harry James Potter, how dare you ask me that?” The girl hissed out and Harry let out a loud squeaky ‘ _eek’_ as she stomped towards him in anger. “Why don’t _you_ tell me why are _you_ here, huh?”

A furious Hermione was a scary Hermione, Harry decided. Harry almost expected her to spit out fire with how angry she looked—she was even more frightening than Touka-san on a bad day, and that was saying something. He couldn’t even answer her question as he was too busy trying not to shake like a leaf.

“I can’t believe _you_! Quitting Hogwarts, moving to Japan! All without telling us first!” His very angry best friend growled out the words venomously when she saw that he had frozen up and Harry whimpered as she stopped in front of him with a deadly glare.

“B-but Hermione! I did tell you— _ow_!” Harry tried to explain but was cut off by the girl who whacked the top of his head rather harshly with her clenched hand. Harry winced, holding his stinging head in a protective manner with teary eyes as the girl yelled at him some more.

“By _letter_! And _a week_ after Hogwarts started! You should have told us about this kind of things _in person_! Do you know how worried I was when you didn’t show up on the train last September huh? Do you?” The girl raised her voice in her emotional state.

Seeing her getting worked up and genuinely upset with him, Harry felt really bad for doing that to her. He was such a bad friend; he was insensitive and didn’t even think of what his friends would feel about his decision. He was only thinking of himself. Hermione had every right to be mad at him.

“I’m sorry…” He apologized dejectedly, and the girl glared at him again.

“You should be!” She fumed moodily.

Harry didn’t know what to say to her afterwards, not knowing how to mend his relationship with her as he had never make her this angry before. He could only observe her with miserable expression, watching as she seemed like she wanted to berate him some more but was holding herself back.

He saw the girl’s face reddening as if she was going to explode and her hair getting frizzed up with her bottled up emotion before she finally let out a loud, frustrated yell and suddenly, he was engulfed by her warmth.

“Uu _uurgh_! I was planning to roast you alive until you’re half dead when I see you again, but damn it, I miss you too much!” The girl sniffed onto his shoulder as she squeezed him tightly with her arms. “Don’t ever pull something like this on us again! Ever! I’ll break our friendship the next time you pull this on us again! I mean it!”

As his heartbeat calmed down, a small smile appeared on Harry’s face as he finally hugged back one of his first friend with equal force. Hearing the girl sniffing again to hold back her tears, Harry laughed lightly and rubbed her back in a comforting manner.

“I won’t, I promise. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in person… it was actually a last minute decision for me to move here too.” Harry smiled as she let him go.

“Last minute or not, you should still tell us first! At least call me! Surely you could afford a payphone? We’re your best friends, you should have treated us better!” The girl smacked his chest as she wiped at her eyes furiously.

Harry was thankful for the fact that she was a strong and prideful girl so she had stopped her tears before it could even started to fall because he didn’t know how to console a crying girl.

“I know, I know. Why don’t we take this inside? It’s freezing out here, Hermione.” Harry offered his best friend who sniffed again and wiped her eyes before she slapped his chest again sulkily.

“Fine. But you’re paying!” She huffed and stomped towards the entrance grumpily.

With a resigned laugh, Harry accepted his fate of being the girl’s gopher until she forgave him completely and pulled the door open for her. Ron’s owl hit his head in a flurry and made himself home amongst his nest-like hair as they passed through the door. Harry smiled at the owl’s behavior and asked Hermione to wait while he asked Yoshimura-san if Pig could stay upstairs so that he won’t make a mess inside the shop.

The old owner of Anteiku agreed only as long as Harry will take care of the mess if the little owl messed up the living room upstairs. Harry promised that he’ll be responsible for the bird and thanked the manager before he took Hermione to meet Kaneki-kun and his blond companion.

“Sorry for the wait!” Harry told the two of them, who had already ordered some hot drinks and were sipping on them as they chatted animatedly. Kaneki-kun met his eyes and a small smile appeared on his lips as he nodded his head.

“It’s not a problem, Harry-kun. Sorry we ordered first, we were getting a bit cold.” The gray-eyed boy said as Hide-kun grinned at him with meaningful look.

“And who is this lovely lady, hmmm Harry- _kuuuun_?” The blond wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Harry glared at him in response.

“Stop looking at her like that!” He told the blond sternly as he stood beside Hermione and clasped her shoulders gently before he introduced her to his two friends. “This is one of my best friend from my country, her name is Hermione Granger.”

Hermione thankfully seemed to take Hide-kun’s teasing in a light manner and she smiled at them both before bowing her head a little in greeting. “It’s nice to meet the both of you. Thank you for putting up with him until now even though he was such a handful.”

“Hey!” He protested, but was disregarded by everyone.

“Naw, it’s fine. He’s a handful, sure, but fun to be around. Come sit with us, little Miss. You must have a lot to talk about right? We saw you lynching the poor guy from the window.” The blond sniggered as he stirred his drink with a spoon while Kaneki-kun hides his smile.

“Hide-kun! Spying on your friends, now?” Harry gasped in a mock-scandalized manner and Hermione bonked his head with her knuckles lightly once more.

“Stop being so dramatic! Like you’ve never done that before too.” The girl snorted as Harry clutched his head once again, looking very meek as he asked for her forgiveness.

“I’m very sorry, ma’am.” He muttered sincerely, ignoring Hide-kun’s boisterous laugh and Kaneki-kun’s amused smile.

“Good. Now, why don’t you introduce your friends to me?” Hermione nodded in satisfaction before she sat down slowly, minding the skirt she was wearing so it didn’t rode up.

“Oh! Right. Hermione, this is Kaneki Ken-kun and his friend, Nagachika Hideyoshi-kun.” Harry gestured to both boys respectively as both of them waved her their greeting at her before he turned to face them with an apologetic expression, hoping that his new friends wouldn’t be offended that he had to leave them early.

“I’m really sorry, both of you. Even though I’m the one who invited you both here, I don’t think we could stay for long. I didn’t know that she would be coming here today.” He apologized regretfully.

“It’s fine, Harry-kun. You haven’t seen each other in a long time, have you?” Kaneki-kun brushed off his apology with a light laugh as he sipped his coffee. “We can always do this again another day. Go catch up with Granger-san.”

“We don’t have to go now, Harry. We have time to talk later. I’ve told my parents that I’m staying with you tonight anyway, so it’s fine if we stayed here longer. Besides, I want to get to know your friends too.” The only girl at the table told him before she smiled at the older boy, causing Harry’s eyes to widen in surprise.

“Wait, you’re staying with me?” He exclaimed and his friend nodded at him in answer.

“Of course. Sirius told me you have a spare room, just let me use that one.” The girl told him like it was obvious and Harry shook his head at her to show her that she didn’t understand what he meant.

“I do have one, but… isn’t it bad for a girl to sleep under the same roof with a guy her age? Are your parents even okay with this?” Harry asked awkwardly. Not that he was going to do anything bad to her, but he was worried that people were going to talk about her badly if she stayed with him. But even though he was worrying about her, Hermione only bonked his head again lightly and huffed a fond smile at him.

“Harry, you know that I consider you my little brother. My parents know this, and they’ve agreed to let me stay with you tonight. It’s fine already, you worry too much.” The girl ruffled his hair before she waved Irimi-san over for the menu. “We have a lot to talk about anyway—like about all the things you did here and about your _education_. I also want to tell you about how Ron and everyone back home are doing. This would take more than a few hours, so it’s better if we do this in your place later.”

“O-okay. If you’re sure.” Harry agreed uncertainly and the girl nodded her hear with conviction.

“I’m very sure. Now, I want this rare cheesecake and two cream puff, also a cup of café au lait. I also want three more slices of the chocolate cake, strawberry cake, and the apple pie to take back with us.” Hermione said, taking full advantage of his promise and choosing whatever she wanted with no reservation and Harry winced, thinking of his poor wallet.

“Won’t you gain weight if you consume that much sweets?” Harry voiced his thoughts before he could stop himself and received a deadly glare from the girl in return.

“Are you saying that I’m fat?”

“No, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.”

Completely intimidated by the girl, Harry obediently pulled out his wallet to see if he got enough money to cough up for her orders and he heard a small laughter from the other side of the table. When he turned his head towards the sound, he saw Kaneki-kun hiding his giggles behind his hand and his face reddened in embarrassment even as a pout started to form on his lips.

_How embarrassing…_

Their blond friend could only snort as he shook his head in amusement seeing his typical reaction.

“You guys are hilarious. I feel like I’m watching a comedy show.” He said teasingly before he sipped his coffee again.

“We’re not comedians and this is not a show!” Harry protested in indignation and began to bicker with the blond, not realizing that Hermione was looking at him fondly beside him as she exhaled a relieved sigh with a smile.

The girl too, didn’t realize that Kaneki was observing her and he felt a smile tugging at his lips as he saw the genuine affection reflected in her eyes as she stared at the younger boy even though he rarely ever smiled at a stranger.

“Both of you are really close, huh?” The older black-haired boy asked her with a warm smile. Caught off-guard by his question and embarrassed that the other had seen her being sentimental, Hermione’s cheeks reddened a bit before she nodded her answer.

“Well, I guess. He’s one of my first friends, along with Ron, our other friend.” She explained to the other simply. “They’re reckless and irresponsible, but they’re good people. They saved me from a life-threatening situation once, back when we were eleven, and we’ve been friends ever since.”

Hermione smiled at the black haired boy as she recalled the incident that happened on their first year at Hogwarts. “Can you imagine it, Kaneki-san? Two eleven-years old children, instead of running to get help from our teachers, decided to jump into the danger themselves to save me.”

“Ahaha, I can imagine that, actually. Harry-kun did seem like the type who will do that.” Kaneki laughed lightly as he sipped his own drink, causing her to let out a small giggle too before she recovered and tucked some of her hairs behind her ear.

“Right? It was a ridiculously stupid act, but… I guess I was charmed enough by their bravery that I decided to keep them.” She ended in a playful way, causing the older boy to laugh again.

“Ah, Hermione! That’s embarrassing, why are you telling them that?” Harry, who was apparently done bickering with the blond, protested lightly at her, embarrassed at hearing the old story being brought up again.

“Well, it’s the truth isn’t it?” The bushy-haired girl smiled and flicked his forehead lightly. As Harry clutched his forehead protectively from his best friend, Hide-kun choked on his drink and stared at him in some odd mix of amazement and disbelief.

“Wait, so you’re saying that this kid has been doing _that thing_ since you two were eleven years old?” Hide-kun expressed his incredulity as he wiped his mouth, and Hermione raised an eyebrow at the blond’s question.

“ _That thing_?” The girl asked and Harry let out a gasp as he realized where the conversation was heading. He tried to stop the blond from clarifying what he meant to Hermione but unfortunately, he didn’t make it in time and watched as the blond grinned mischievously, having realized that this was going to get him in trouble.

“The saving-people-from-dangerous-situation-at-the-expense-of-his-own-safety thing.” The blond said, adopting a faux-innocent look that looked completely wrong on his face. “Didn’t he tell you? He risked his life saving his school from a ghoul attack last October. He defeated the ghoul even when the agents from CCG failed to and saved us all. Right, Kaneki?”

Hide-kun nudged his black-haired friend’s elbow and Harry could only stammer in horror as he sensed the darkening air around Hermione.

“Hide-kun, Kaneki-kun, please stop! You’re going to get me seriously killed!” He whispered furiously at the older boys, but Kaneki-kun seemed like he didn’t hear him as he nodded in agreement to the blond’s words.

“Y-yeah.” The gray-eyed boy winced, remembering the horrible incident pretty vividly. “He got hurt pretty badly, but because of his actions none of the civilians died.”

After his admission, Harry watched with wariness as Hermione turned towards him with a wide, sweet-looking smile. “Hmm, a ghoul, huh? Why didn’t you write this on your last letter, Harry?”

“Well, um, I—”

As Harry stuttered to find an excuse to appease the girl’s ire, Hide-kun sniggered as he finished up his already warm coffee in one gulp and stood up abruptly.

“Well, I think that’s our cue to leave. Here’s our share of the money! Bye Harry and _Miss_ _Granger_! Hope you guys enjoyed your talk!” He said, tugging on his best friend’s sleeves. “Come on Kaneki, finish up your drink fast!”

“Alright, alright.” The black-haired boy laughed as he stood up as well. He smiled a little at both Harry and Hermione before he gave a little wave at them. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Granger-san. Good luck, Harry-kun. See you tomorrow!”

“W-wait, you traitors! Don’t leave me alone!” Harry begged in panic, before he felt a small hand gripped his shoulder so tightly he could almost feel the bones cracking. He flinched and turned slowly to find Hermione’s smile turning sweeter and brighter.

“You’re going to tell me everything, from the very beginning. Now.” The girl said, and Harry shuddered in fright seeing the dark aura surrounding the girl.

“Y-yes, ma’am…”

 

 

“So… getting in a car accident,” Hermione repeated, putting up one of her fingers on one hand, counting the list of unfortunate events that happened to him these past months.

“Got attacked by a ghoul and then finding out that you’ve become some bizarre mix of a human and a ghoul,” She added two fingers at a time, “Becoming friends with the ghoul who attacked you and his other friends and then getting into trouble with the CCG with him,” She added another finger.

“Having a ghoul attacking your school and got stabbed by said ghoul when you were engaging the ghoul in a combat so that your friends could escape…” Hermione frowned as she added two more fingers, even having to use her other hand because the list had gotten to more what she could fit in one hand and Harry could only fidget in nervousness waiting for her reaction.

“All these in less than half a year? Harry…” The girl frowned at him in concern.

“I know it seemed terrible, but honestly it’s not as worse as it sounds, Hermione.” Harry nervously tried to smile to show Hermione that everything was not as bad as she thought, but Hermione was not convinced. Sitting on the sofa in the middle of his living room*, she frowned with a thoughtful expression.

“But even at Hogwarts, usually you only get one major life threatening incident per year. Here you already got at least _five_ of them.” The girl said, gnawing at her lower lip in concern as she met his eyes. “I know that you know how protect yourself, but Harry… I think it’ll be dangerous if you insist on staying here. Your ghoul friends might be good people, but it didn’t mean that getting involved with them is safe.”

Hearing what Hermione just said, Harry frowned at the girl. “I know you’re skeptical about them, but they will never hurt me, Hermione.”

“I’m not saying they’ll hurt you, but listen to me.” Hermione sighed before she tucked a section of her hair behind her ear as she continued on to explain what she meant. “I know you, Harry. I know what you’re like. You’re the type to pry into other people’s problem, you don’t like seeing people get hurt, and you have this… _strange_ tendencies to ignore your own wellbeing. I know that should there be a moment where you think your friends are in danger, you’ll jump in to help them even if it meant getting yourself in danger.”

Harry winced at her remarks, knowing full well that all of them were so true.

“These new friends of yours… they’re ghouls, Harry,” She continued, frowning deeply in concern. “They have ghoul friends and families. They have _ghoul problems_. From your stories and what I read in our history books, I know that most ghouls will not hesitate to fight with each other—which often results in death. They started fights all the time without even having to have a good reason for it.”

“Some ghouls even practiced cannibalism too on top of everything, you know. Being viewed as a ghoul by them do not automatically give you immunity towards them, Harry. And then, after all the danger that the ghouls poses, there’s the CCG too.” She added uneasily, her hands clenching as she listed off all the dangers that was surrounding him.

“My point is… Harry. This is an entirely new world for you. You’ll be facing different dangers than what you’re used to back in our world. I know that you’re not weak and you’re quick to adapt, but you always have Ron and me back home. I’ll knew that even if you got yourself into troubles, together we’ll be able to help you get through it. But now…”

“I… I can’t do anything to help you and… I hate it. I hate being so helpless and scared. I hate that you’re constantly putting yourself in danger.” The girl said quietly, averting her eyes from him as she wrapped her arms around herself.

Harry opened his mouth to say something to respond to her confession, but nothing came out. In the end, he closed it again and looked down in shame, hating himself for making his friend sounded so sad. He looked up again when he felt a hand smaller than his touched his own to see the determination shining in Hermione’s eyes.

“Won’t you come back to us, Harry? To Hogwarts? I’m sure that everyone will help keep your current state a secret. They’ll understand and they won’t judge you. They will protect you. _I_ will protect you. You don’t have to hide anymore.”

Seeing the strong light in the girl’s eyes, Harry’s breath was caught in his throat and he had to bit his lip and averted his eyes from her before the moistures in his eyes could gather anymore.

He had underestimated her so, so much. He didn’t know that she felt that strongly for him. All these times, she was always worried about him. The feeling of wanting to protect their precious person—she felt it too. It’s not just him who felt like that, yet he never realized it before. He had been a bad friend to her.

But…

“I’m sorry, Hermione. But I can’t go back yet.” He said determinedly, looking at his best friend’s eyes as he gently removed her hands from his.

Hermione looked stunned by his answer, and he tried not to let the pang in his chest shook him. He had made his decision. There was still something he had to do here.

“Why? Do you not trust us?” Hermione’s voice wavered like she was about to cry, but Harry shook his head with a small smile to assure her.

“Of course I trust you. I trust Ron and everyone else too. You’re my best friends— _my_ _family_. I know that you’ll try to protect me no matter what the risk, that’s why I don’t want to involve you.” He scratched his cheeks and averted his eyes awkwardly, not very used to baring his feelings like that. “It’s true that I’m scared that people will find out. I’m scared that people would call for me to be imprisoned or even worse—to be executed because of my condition, but what I’m most afraid of is putting you guys in danger.”

“Actually, I wasn’t even going to tell you about all these too at first, but then Hide-kun told you about it and destroyed all of my plans to keep you out of this.” Harry’s lips tugged upward slightly as he shook his head exasperatedly. Hide-kun loved to play pranks, but he meant well and he cared for his friends so Harry could never get mad at him.

Looking at the silent Hermione, Harry’s smile died down a little.

“I know that I’ll be getting into some dangerous stuff the moment I decided to stay here, you know. I mean, they’re ghouls. I know from firsthand experience that they have no qualms about killing people, but… compared to troubling and endangering you guys, I think I made the right decision to stay here.” He finished, lowering his eyes as he waited for the witch’s response.

“…I understand.” He heard the girl said after a few second and he raised his head in relief.

“Then—”

“Then I’ll help you figure out how to turn yourself back to normal.”

Harry blinked.

“Wait, what?”

“You’re afraid of involving us because of your condition, right? Then the sooner you’re back to normal, the sooner you’ll come back home. That’s why I’ll help you figure it out.” Hermione nodded to herself as he thought of a plan to help him.

“It’s not like you’ll put us in danger for researching some information, so you can’t object to this. Besides, I’ll be able to access the information you couldn’t get here at Hogwart’s library. There must be something there that could help. First, we have to determine the cause of the change first. If we know the cause we’ll be more likely to find the solution, and—”

Hermione kept talking and talking, already formulating a plan in such a short time. She didn’t try to force him to come back with her. She just accepted his decision and decided to work around it. Harry didn’t know what he should say to all these. He was just so touched and happy by her understanding of his decision. He was so blessed to be able to be her friend.

A genuine smile appeared on his face, and he cut off his friend’s thoughtful babble with a fierce hug.

“Thank you, Hermione. I’m glad I have you.”

Hearing his whispered confession, he felt Hermione smile against his shoulder.

“Of course you are.” She said confidently, and Harry was very glad that she had returned to her usual self. They stayed in that position for a while, before finally the girl pushed him away gently on his chest.

“I’m still against this, Harry. But I will respect and trust your decision for now.” Hermione said, a small smile on her lips. “Don’t do anything that will make me worry, alright?”

Harry could only smile wryly at her words.

“…I’ll try.”

“Well… I guess that’s good enough, coming from you.” His friend replied with a teasing smile. She patted his cheek and stood up to reach for her bags. Pulling out a small pouch, she tossed it to him. Harry caught it effortlessly and inspected it closely.

“What is this?” He asked the girl who had already sat back down beside him.

“A mokeskin pouch.” The bushy haired witch told him. “It contained your birthday presents from everyone, and the pouch itself is from Hagrid.”

“It’s December though?” Puzzled, Harry opened the pouch and rummaged inside. Inside was a multitude of various things. Sweets, sweater, a snitch figurine, and many others—there’s even a love potion inside. Must be the twins.

“We were withholding them from you until you visited us, but Sirius told us you probably wouldn’t be able to come. So I asked my parents if we could go to Japan this year.” Hermione explained. Seeing the guilty expression on his face after hearing her words, the girl slapped his arm in exasperation.

“Come on. Wipe that look off your face. Don’t you want to hear about the latest gossips at Hogwarts?” She said, a teasing smile on her face.

“Since when do you gossip?” He asked with amusement, but he straightened up in anticipation to hear about what was happening when he was gone.

“Since now. Anyway. Ron finally asked me out and—”

“He finally did _what_?”

And they spent the rest of the evening just talking and catching up. Hermione told him what was going on with their other friends during the last five months and he told her about everything that happened to him.

They talked about useless things, important things, and everything else that crossed their minds. Honestly it was the first time in months—since he left his homeland—that he felt completely relaxed and at home. He was really glad that he finally told someone other than Sirius or Remus the truth about what happened.

They were having so much fun talking that before he realized it, he had fallen asleep on his friend’s shoulder from exhaustion.

 

 

When he opened his eyes next, it was already nine in the morning. Remembering that Hermione had promised her parents that she’d meet them at the hotel they’re staying at 11 AM, he quickly woke Hermione up and both of them took turns showering before Harry brought her back to her parents, who had greeted him with cheerful smiles and a warm hug.

Being with the Granger family felt a bit strange to him somehow. Harry had never realize how much he missed being surrounded by the language of his homeland until the family of three spoke to him all in English, but it felt nice. So many things had happened in such a short time that even though Harry had only been away from home for half a year, it felt like years had passed since he set his feet in Japan.

For the next four days before their departure back to England, Hermione kept dragging him wherever she and her family goes under the pretense of being their guide. Harry tried to deny her, saying that he didn’t know much about Japan and that it was her family vacation so he shouldn’t intrude, but she dismissed his concern with her usual confident smile.

“ _The time we could spend together was not much, so I want to make the best of what we have_ ,” was what she told him, and that’s exactly what she did. She dragged him to one of the famous teahouse in Kyoto’s Gion district and watched the _geiko*_ there sing and dance for them, they went to see the Kinkakuji and to a real maid café in Akihabara (which made him have a horrible _flashback_ about his class’s Man Maid café during the festival), saw the Great Buddha in Kamakura, and even went to the Disneyland together.

He had originally plan on spending his Winter Holidays with Kaneki-kun, Hide-kun, and everyone at Anteiku, but he thought that this was fine too. Despite being really tired, Harry thought that going on all those trips with Hermione and her family was a very nice and fun experience.

He had missed Hermione’s company.

Since Hermione and her parents will go back to London on the 26th of December, they decided to hold a small Christmas party along with a farewell party on Harry’s apartment on the 25th. They exchanged presents, played some games, and eat the cake that both teens tried their hardest to make the previous day too.

Sirius and Remus came to visit too through the floo sometime in the evening, bearing gifts and well-wishes from his other friends back home. Opening their presents brought a smile to Harry’s face. It always warmed his heart to be reminded that everyone back home still remember and care about him. Each and every one of the gifts he received was precious, but the most special one once again was what Sirius gave him.

It was a pair of two-way mirrors.

When Harry became speechless because of his gift, his godfather came up to him and ruffled his hair affectionately.

“ _I’m giving it to you so you could keep in touch with your friends even when school had started again_ ,” his godfather told him with a wink. Harry didn’t even try to stop himself from burying his face in the animagus’ chest and hugging him tightly before he gave one of the pair of mirrors to Hermione who was as thankful as he was to Sirius about the mirror.

 _If only everyday was this fun,_ was what Harry thought before he fell asleep that day after the Grangers went back to their hotel and both Sirius and Remus passed out from their drinking contest, but unfortunately Hermione and her parents had a flight scheduled for the next morning so it was with a heavy heart that Harry sent her off on the airport that day.

“So, this is it. After this, you’ll be on your own again.” Hermione told him with a sad smile. Cupping his cheeks with her palms, the girl then glared at him strongly. “You have to take care of yourself, okay? If you got in trouble, contact me. No matter what, I’ll come to you.”

“I know. Thank you, Hermione.” With a light laugh, Harry answered her. “You have to be careful yourself too.”

Looking at him wistfully, the girl heaved a little sigh.

“You’ve changed,” she told him.

“Yeah?” He asked with a smile.

“You’re more composed somehow.” Hermione said, looking at him with a wistful smile before she shook her head and gave him a light punch on the chest with a huff. “I don’t want to admit it, but this place have done you good. But still… don’t forget about us, okay? Come visit us this summer too, if you can. We’ll keep the media away.”

“I’ll try.” Harry promised her, before he saw something golden and moving from the corner of his eyes. He followed the golden thing with his eyes and dropped his mouth in disbelieve when he identified what the thing was.

“Harry? Is something wrong?” Hermione asked him as he gaped at the approaching person. Tall, blond, with a scary look on his handsome face—it was Shouji.

“Shouji. Why are you _here_?” Harry exclaimed, slightly weary at the thought that the ghoul was _stalking_ him now. That can’t be it though. …right?

The blond kept the scary expression even as he answered his question.

“I was sending _someone_ … off.” He grouched, glaring at Hermione in distaste. “Who is she? Your girlfriend?”

Harry couldn’t help it, he almost laughed at the accusing tone of his question. Shouji almost sounded like he was jealous or something.

“Nope. This is one of my best friends from home, Hermione Granger.” Harry said, introducing Hermione with a little nudge with his shoulder. She smiled at the blond and waved a little at him with a nod.

“Oh.” Shouji blushed a bit, apparently flustered that he was assuming the wrong thing. “You were being really close, so I thought…”

“No, we’re not like that.” Harry assured the blond with a huff. “She have a boyfriend anyway, and I have someone I like too.”

“Wait, you do?!” Both Hermione and Shouji asked (yelled) at the same time, and Harry realized that he had once again revealed his secret unintentionally. Thankfully he was saved from being questioned further by the announcement about Hermione’s flight.

“Ah, I have to go now! I’ll call you tonight, okay?” The girl said in a hurry as she heard her mother calling her name in the distance. She was about to turn and leave, but then she turned her head in Shouji’s direction and stared at him right in the eyes—as if she was judging him.

Feeling uncomfortable, Shouji glared back at the girl, but she was not cowed.

“You’re Harry’s friend, right?” Hermione asked the blond, who scowled deeper at the imposing tone of her voice.

“I am. What is it to you?” He challenged her back. Seeing his reaction, a small smile appeared on Hermione’s face.

“You have to take care of him, okay. Keep him safe, no matter what.” The girl told him boldly. “I’ll make you regret it if he’s hurt while in your care.”

“Hermione!” Harry gasped, part horrified and part embarrassed that she had said that to the ghoul, but both the witch and said ghoul ignored him in favor of going into a staring contest with each other.

“As if you could do anything to me, little girl.” Shouji snorted at her, but then a confident smirk appeared at his face as he crossed his arms. “But no need to tell me that. I’ve promised myself I’d protect him. With my life, if I have to.”

“Shouji!” Harry gasped again, this time actually horrified by what was said between them.

“Good.” Hermione said, stepping back from the blond. Then, after she exhaled a long breath, she smiled at him and Shouji. “Then, I’m going now. See you later, Harry.”

With those words, Hermione ran back to her waiting parents.

Seeing her back disappearing through one of the departure gate, Harry heaved a tired sigh and went to give the ghoul behind him a stern look.

“Why did you say that to her?” He questioned the ghoul harshly, a hint of worry and frustration on his voice. He definitely didn’t like it that his friend talked so lightly about sacrificing his life for him.

“Why not? It’s not like I’m lying.” Shouji huffed, crossing his arms again. “I’ll protect you no matter what, Harry. I won’t let you get hurt like _last time_.”

The ghoul continued, obviously referring to when he was injured pretty badly by the Butterfly on his school festival. He didn’t know that that incident had that much impact on the blond.

“Well, I appreciate the thought, but I don’t want you dying on me either. You’re my friend too, you know. Did it ever cross your mind how I might feel if you died because of me?” He retorted at the blond with a huff. “I would be sad, okay. So don’t talk about dying that easily.”

Hearing no protest or any kind of noises from the usually noisy blond, Harry turned to glance at the blond and raised an eyebrow seeing that he was hiding his red face behind his hand.

“Shouji, you’re blushing.” He told the ghoul with amusement. His amusement only grew when said ghoul glared at him in return.

“Shut up.” Shouji grumbled with a pout. When he let out a lighthearted laugh, the ghoul glanced at him from the corner of his eyes and rubbed his hair to hide his embarrassment. “Wanna go to Anteiku after this? I heard Touka-chan started to work part-time there since yesterday.”

Harry gaped, hearing the news. He simply couldn’t imagine Touka-san working in there, serving customers and taking their orders. It was unthinkable.

“Wait, seriously?” Seeing the blond ghoul’s nod, Harry took his arm and pushed him to the exit. “Come on then, hurry up! I want to see her try to smile at the customers!”

As they walked out of the airport, a plane began to take off to the sky. With a small smile, Harry made a prayer that the plane will bring his friend safely to their homeland. Maybe after he found the solution to his situation, he will follow her there, but for now he had to go to see his other friend first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*They were having the talk after they got to Harry’s apartment okay. In case any of you are confused._
> 
> _*Geiko: Geisha. You know, the children (women) of the art who wear kimono and hair ornaments and sing, dance, and play games with you in their establishments._
> 
> I love Hermione okay. I love her. And no, Shouji was not stalking Harry. He really was seeing someone off. Someone who might or might not be mentioned in the next chapter.
> 
> By the way, have any of you read **The Legend of Sun Knight** novel? If not, then I really recommend you to read it if you like fantasy! It has a good balance of comedy and tragedy, the plot is interesting and engaging, the characters are all so loveable I want to adopt them all, the world building in that novel is the best, and the _plot twists_. God. Some are predictable but some are not and I just. Yu Wo is such an _amazing_ writer and I want to marry Adair he’s almost as best as Hide I love him so, _so much_.
> 
> Thank you all for reading! I can’t wait for next chapter! This is so exciting!!


	9. Premonition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I’m really sorry I haven’t replied to your reviews or PMs! I’ve been really busy since September of last year. I still read and cherish each of your messages though! Thank you so much for all your support!
> 
> So here’s chapter 9! Sorry for the long wait. Prepare your butt for this messy, cheesy, kinda angsty thing I called a chapter. Just in case you’re confused why the plot become like this suddenly though, don’t worry I’ve got it all planned lol.

After Hermione went back home, Harry’s life continued on like it always do. The only thing that changed was the increased amount of letters he received each month now.

Hermione sent him letters about the results of her research almost every week. The contents about her letters always varies—facts about ghouls, history about ghouls, cases of experiments done on ghouls by wizards, and everything that she thought might be relevant to his current situation that she can get her hands on.

Harry thought that with everything she sent him, he could probably be able to write a scientific journal about ghouls. Maybe even a book, if he was that dedicated. At the very least though, his book will be _way_ more accurate than the book that fraud Ogura Hisashi wrote some time ago. That man didn’t know anything about ghouls at all—he was just pretending to be knowledgeable about them, it’s embarrassing.

But back to the topic, Hermione sent him one news article that struck something inside him. It was an article about a witch who was obsessed with veelas and tried to turn herself into one.

It made Harry shudder when he read that article. That witch was a very mad one and she somehow managed to find a way to implant the hair she forcefully obtained from an unfortunate veela onto her own head, and the result was terrifying—she mutated into a horrible creature with long scaly wings on her back and everything she touched would suddenly burst into fire*.

She was sent to Azkaban to be _kissed_ after that—because she burned her children to death accidentally when she touched them and the veela she stole the hair from was found dead in her basement when the Aurors were investigating about her children’s deaths. A veela’s hair was the most magical part of their beings after all, and plucking even a strand of it from their head will result in the death or disfigurement of the veela—not to mention the whole hair.

That article didn’t mention ghouls at all, but Hermione thought that it might be relevant to his case somehow—because the hair of the veela being the most magical part of them was the reason why that witch became that horrible creature.

Hermione theorized that he _must_ have come in contact with a ghoul somewhere before his ‘change’ and somehow received a part of the most magical part of their beings, but that just didn’t make sense because from her research she had come to the conclusion that the kakuhou of ghouls was the most magical part of them.

There was no way he could come into contact with the kakuhou of a ghoul accidentally—because the kakuhou was an internal organ, not an external one.

They got stuck at that point, but Hermione promised to try and get the permit to access the forbidden section of the library to find out more. Harry was really touched at the length she would go for him. He was really blessed to have someone like her in his life.

Aside from the business letters she sent him _,_ Hermione also called him with the mirror every once in a while to tell him about the interesting things she and everyone else in class did recently and to ask him about how he was doing.

Ron called him too sometimes when his girlfriend was not hogging the mirror for her own use, and more often than not the content of his calls was complains about her nagging on his behavior.

Harry knew that he didn’t mean all that though, because the tone of his voice was always fond when he was talking about Hermione. Harry could tell that she was really precious to the redheaded boy.

Talking to his best friends and seeing their faces always brought a smile to his lips no matter what. It made him happy to know that they both of them were doing well with each other. Though, it was unfortunate that Harry couldn’t contact them as much as he would like since his life got busier when February came around.

For Harry himself, he got his midterm and O.W.L exams—which while important was actually not that hard for him, but both Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun will be having their university entrance exams soon and they were _really_ stressed out.

There was even this one ridiculous incident where Harry got kind of concerned when they didn’t text him back after several days had passed and when went to check on them in Hide-kun’s apartment, he found them on the verge of passing out because apparently they got too into studying that they often forgot to eat.

After feeding and thoroughly scolding them, Harry dragged both boys to his apartment for the entire exam seasons so he could keep watch on them. It ended up with Harry having to juggle both studying for his school and magical exams _and_ taking care of Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun while making sure that they didn’t do anything stupid like starving themselves again.

It was honestly really exhausting, but the smiles on both Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun’s faces when they told him that they were accepted into their chosen university made it all worth it.

To congratulate them for getting accepted, Harry gave a big headphone in bright red color for Hide-kun and a very simple but high quality gray jumper for Kaneki-kun. Both boys seemed to love what he got them, which made Harry really happy.

They seemed really thankful to him for taking care of them during the exam period too, which made Harry a bit bashful. It was the first time he acted like that after all—usually he was the one who was always being taken care of, but Harry found that he liked the feeling of taking care of someone like that. Being needed by his friends felt… nice.

And so, that April, after months of hardships Harry finally became a third year while Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun graduated from their school and became university students at Kamii University—and unfortunately for them, Shouji’s junior.

Shouji was not happy when he found out that the ‘ _worms that have been hanging around Harry and stealing all his time from him_ ’ was going to be his junior and he showed it in his face by glaring at both humans and terrorizing them whenever he passed them by in the corridor at school—which was completely ridiculous and childish of him.

Harry would never know why he was so hostile towards them. He thought maybe Shouji was feeling left out and lonely so he decided to take Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun to Anteiku again and dragged Shouji in front of them so he could be friends with them too, but the ghoul only glared at him for a moment before stalking off to play with Hinami.

Harry didn’t know how someone could be so smart and yet so immature like that.

Speaking of Hinami though, somehow Harry had been roped into being the unofficial babysitter-slash-caretaker for Hinami in the last few months too.

The younger girl’s parents were often busy with their jobs and her mother had to take her to Anteiku so that the manager or Touka-san could keep an eye on her, but they were often busy as well with the café so he volunteered to help them out once and somehow he got stuck with the task whenever the young ghoul was there and no one was able to keep her company.

Not that Harry mind since he thought the girl was adorable, but he was afraid that she would be bored having to spend time with him all the time. He was uninteresting after all. His concerns was proved wrong when the younger girl grew so attached to him after just one day together though.

Hinami would often ask him to teach her how to read the novels her mother gave her, but he couldn’t do much either since his reading ability was almost as bad as her. Harry might be able to hold conversation in Japanese well enough, but kanji was _hard._

Shouji sometimes helped him babysitting Hinami and teaching her the more difficult words that he couldn’t read, but he was really busy with his own homework too lately, so he couldn’t come that often. Hinami was a smart kid though, and she learned fast. Only several months and she almost finished with the books she got from her mother. When they actually finish the last one, he’ll buy a new one for her as a present.

Hinami have strange tastes in her books though. The girl didn’t enjoy romance that much, but loved mystery and thriller genres. Harry didn’t like romance either—mainly because he had to censor the bits that he felt was too mature for her and he didn’t like seeing Hinami being cross with him for keeping _secrets_ , but thriller was a bit… too much for him. Maybe she’ll like one of those books from Kaneki-kun’s current favorite author?

Other than that though, Harry was thoroughly enjoying his days very much. Once or twice he ran into trouble too with some ghouls, but he was prepared now. Not only was he getting stronger thanks to all his trainings, he also has his mask so he could go all out without risking his identity exposed.

Harry thought that it was a bit worrying that he was getting used to his ‘ _life as a ghoul’_ at such an ease, but he chose not to think too much on it. He was surrounded by friends and the family he made here—that was what mattered the most to him.

He was happy.

 

 

…

 

 

It was at the beginning of July that his perfect world began to fall apart.

The finals of his first term was coming in two weeks and it was the last fencing club meeting before finals, so Harry gave it his all at practice and came home completely exhausted. After feeding Hedwig, he looked up some easy dinner recipe on his phone and began to cook it when his fireplace suddenly flared to life.

Harry perked up in excitement as he set his macaroni and cheese aside. Someone was floo-calling him! Hermione and Ron always used the mirror and Remus always used the phone, so it must be Sirius.

He quickly ran to his fireplace kneeled in front of it to accept the call and smiled as his godfather’s face appeared on the burning fire.

“Hey, Siri. You didn’t usually wake up this early.” Harry greeted. It was actually around 9 AM in England right now, but Sirius didn’t usually wake up until around 11 AM. That man loved his sleep a bit too much, Harry thought fondly.

“Yeah, I—I know.” Sirius stuttered, licking his lips nervously. Harry raised an eyebrow looking at him in suspicion, but Sirius spoke again before he could voice his suspicion.

“What are you doing?” Sirius asked him. Harry looked over his shoulders where his meal was still emitting steam on the pot he cooked it on and shrugged.

“I was just making dinner.” He answered the man, before he perked up again and leaned closer to the fire. “Have you eaten breakfast yet, Siri? I cooked enough for two portions if you want some. Wait a bit, I’ll prepare for your plate too—”

Sirius hadn’t been to his place for some times now, apparently busy helping Professor Dumbledore with something. There were so many things he wanted to say and ask to his godfather.

He was just about to get back on his feet when suddenly Sirius’s called out to him.

“ _Harry_.”

Harry looked at his godfather’s eyes and stopped in his tracks—sensing the gravity in his tone of voice.

“There’s something we need to talk about.” Sirius began after a while. “I will be there in half an hour with Dumbledore and Remus. Finish your meal before we arrive, okay? This is pretty important.”

_…What the hell. That was really suspicious, wasn’t it?_

Frowning, Harry only nodded his head at the older man.

“Is the Headmaster mad at me? Did I do something wrong?” He asked in concern, uneasiness beginning to bite at his chest. He haven’t done anything that warranted a _visit_ from Professor Dumbledore… right?

“No, no! You haven’t done anything wrong!” Sirius was quick to assure him, and some of the tension left him. “It’s just… Harry…”

There was a pause, before Sirius’ face twisted in a painful expression.

“…No. Go enjoy your dinner, alright?”

With that, the call was cut off and the fire in the fireplace began to die down too, leaving Harry to frown at the ashes, thinking of Sirius’s suspicious act as he ate his dinner in silence.

_What was he going to say?_ Harry thought. _What was so serious that the busy Professor Dumbledore have to come personally to Japan to talk to him?_

There were so many questions that ran through his head, begging for an answer. When the clock stroke 7 PM, the answers was delivered to him as the big and gentle figure of his old headmaster, his godfather, and Remus Lupin appeared in his living room in a flash of green fire.

“Harry, my dear boy…” The old headmaster began, and Harry’s heart clench seeing the guilt in his usually sparkly eyes.

He had a feeling he wouldn’t like this _talk_ they were going to have.

…Of course, his feelings were proven true when he heard the words coming out of the old professor’s mouth.

 

 

“What?” Harry asked weakly, not believing what his old headmaster was telling him. If that was a joke, then it was not funny at all. He glanced at Sirius and Remus for confirmation, but both his guardians’ faces looked really grave and unchanged.

“You’re… you’re not joking.” He whispered like he was in a daze, suddenly feeling lightheaded as he leaned back onto his seat. He watched as the three adults’ faces in front of him grew darker and full of regret, and with a heavy feeling in his chest, he finally realized that everything was not an elaborate prank that Sirius cooked up to scare him.

_“Harry, there’s a piece of Voldemort’s soul inside your scar.”_

Harry’s head hurt.

_A piece of his parent’s murderer’s soul._

_Living inside him._

_How is this even his life?_ Harry sighed in frustration. He must have pissed some higher beings in his previous live or something, because this… this was really messed up.

“I’m very sorry, my boy.” Professor Dumbledore told him, regret coloring his voice. “I wish this is not true myself. I don’t wish to burden you any longer, after everything you’ve been through, but…”

Seeing the old professor like that, Harry unclenched his fists and steeled himself. This was not the time for him to wallow in self-pity. He couldn’t bow to his emotions now, of all times. He must be level headed and look for the solution.

“How long have you known about this?” He asked after he finally collected his thoughts.

“I have known ever since you destroyed the Diary back in 1993 that Voldemort had made a horcrux to sustain his life, but I had hoped that it was the only one he made. But when at the end of last year he managed to come back to life again, my suspicion that he made more horcrux than the Diary was roused.”

“I started to conduct a little research, and after discussing it with an old colleague of mine, we determined that he might have made 7 horcruxes in total because of the significance of the number 7. And so, the past year I have been hunting and destroying these cursed objects before any of his followers got wind of this and tried to resurrect him again.” The professor explained, and Harry suddenly remembered Hermione telling him in one of their calls that Professor Dumbledore had been going out a lot this school year.

The old headmaster of Hogwarts then put up his wand, waving it a few times before five charred and broken objects of various shape materialized before their very eyes, hovering in the air a few centimeters above the table.

Harry followed the objects with his eyes, understanding that those broken objects used to be the horcruxes that the old professor was telling him just now. Three of them were burned until they were nothing more than black, unrecognizable things, and two others looked like they had been pierced with a sharp object.

“So far I have found and destroyed this old ring, cup, locket, diadem, and his own pet snake, but we couldn’t locate the seventh object. That’s when I remembered your scar and how the dark magic residue there is much stronger now than it used to be when you’re just a baby.”

The old man continued again, vanishing the objects from the air. “We ran some tests and compared a sample from that residue with the other horcruxes, and… my suspicions were confirmed.” Albus Dumbledore said, before pausing a little, hesitation hiding behind his spectacles.

“Harry…. from the fact that the dark residue is stronger now than it did when you were a baby, we have determined that it have been leeching off your magical energy for a really long time. It was sucking just a small amount that you wouldn’t notice it was leeching on you, but it did so steadily and constantly for years.”

_Great. Not only it was living inside him, it was leeching off his magic too,_ Harry thought with a frown. He forced himself to focus again when his ex-headmaster opened his mouth again.

“If this keeps on going, it could potentially grow stronger to overpower you and take over your body.” Professor Dumbledore said, and Harry’s eyes widened in alarm. Seeing this, the professor’s eyes softened as he let out a small chuckle. “Don’t worry, my boy, it wouldn’t happen anytime soon—at least not until you’re old like me. What I’m most afraid of is if Voldemort’s remaining followers somehow caught wind of this first and decided to kidnap you again to resurrect him once more.”

_…he’ll be kidnapped again?_

The images of green lights, Cedric Diggory’s dead eyes, and then being tortured with that horrible curse flashed behind his eyes and looked down at his wrist where the scar from the ritual was still etched on his skin.

If the Dark Lord got resurrected again, he will not make the same mistakes he made last time. He will not underestimate Harry again. It doesn’t matter that Harry had gotten stronger now—there was simply no way that he could win against a whole army of trained dark wizards alone, even with the help of his kagune and magic.

There was a reason why in that battle between the wizards and the ghouls all those years ago, the wizards came out as the winner—because the wizards have spells that could subdue ghouls. There was a possibility that the Death Eaters _might_ not know of these spells, but Harry didn’t want to risk it. If they got away with resurrecting their lord, then a war will surely follow and then everyone will be put in danger.

Harry clenched his hands in determination.

No, he won’t let that happen. Voldemort’s soul must be destroyed immediately.

“Is there anything we can do to get rid of this soul from my scar?” He asked them, determination lighting up his eyes. The three adults in front of him wouldn’t come all the way here just to tell him there was a piece of his enemy’s soul inside him. They must have known how to extract or destroy it.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Sirius biting his lips to stop himself from saying _something_ while Remus grabbed his hand to give him comfort. Professor Dumbledore glanced at them in concern before Remus shook his head at him. The headmaster backed down and Harry licked his lips anxiously as Remus took a deep breath before opening his mouth.

“The truth is… we found a ritual to destroy a horcrux. The ritual was designed to separate the soul from its physical vessel without harming the physical vessel itself.” The werewolf told him.

“Then…” Harry began, but was cut off when Remus continued his words.

“But the ritual was created to be used on nonliving things. There have been no record of it ever being used on a human before, as there were no other successful ‘human horcrux’ other than yourself.” The older man finished, looking at him with regret in his eyes. “Harry, we didn’t know if the spell would be able to differentiate between your soul and that of the horcrux.”

…

…

…Oh.

“…Is there no other way to do it?” He asked finally, after he could breathe again.

Professor Dumbledore shook his head.

“The horcrux is very powerful dark magic, Harry. Only the strongest magical fire like the Fiendfyre or the strongest poison like the basilisk poison could destroy it. But we can’t exactly use them on you, can we?”

Right. There’s no point in doing it if he was going to die anyway.

“Another option is to fire a killing curse at the horcrux. Since the killing curse is a curse that instantly separate the target’s soul from its physical vessel, it will do the job just fine, but if the caster have no intention to kill you then the curse will be ineffective.” The professor continued.

“Oh…”

_So there’s no other options, huh… of course. There was no way his life could be that simple._

Seeing his expression, Sirius leapt up from his seat and went around the table so that he could sit beside him. Harry could tell that his godfather was nervous and that he was trying not to panic, but Sirius for once managed to keep a strong expression on his face.

“You don’t have to go through this, Harry. Even if you decided against it, it’s okay. We’ll do anything we can to make sure no Death Eater would be able to touch you.” Sirius told him. “We’ll ward this place heavily and have people stationed here to guard you. We can also—”

Harry took a deep breath softly and closed his eyes with his fists clenched above his knees as Sirius kept talking, rattling off possibilities desperately—trying to discourage him from agreeing to go through it, but he wasn’t listening anymore, because…

From the start, there was only one viable option for him to choose.

The reason why Professor Dumbledore, Remus, and Sirius looked so remorseful and nervous in the first place was probably because they knew this too. They knew which path he will choose, and it won’t be the one that ensured his wellbeing. There was simply no way he would choose his own life over his friends’ safety.

Before Sirius could say another word, Harry shook his head and smiled at him.

“It’s fine already, Sirius.” He told his godfather, who looked taken aback by his words. He turned towards his former headmaster and nodded his head slightly. “I will go through with the ritual. We’ll destroy Voldemort for sure this time.”

Seeing the smile on his face though, his godfather suddenly stood up and banged his hands on the table, making the tea cups that was sitting there clattering loudly. The dog animagus then turned towards him, frustration in his gray eyes.

“Why are you smiling?!” Sirius yelled at him, and Harry had never seen him look so pale and distressed ever since he got released from Azkaban.

“How could you decide this so easily?! You… you should treasure your life more, Harry! Don’t you get it? If you go through with this, you could—you could…”

His godfather’s breath seemed like it got stuck in his throat and looked like he couldn’t continue talking, but Harry understood what he was about to say all the same even though the man didn’t say the exact words.

“I know, Sirius. And I’m fine with it.” Harry told the man who looked like he had just slapped him. He looked away, not being able to see that expression on Sirius’ face for long. It was several moments later that Sirius began to talk again.

“But you… you’re still so young…” Sirius whispered, clenching his fists beside him. “You should have been safe and protected, not…”

“…You know I don’t like being caged, Sirius. Putting me behind wards and have a bodyguard tailing me everywhere would only make me unhappy.” He told the man, who only frowned harder at that. Harry knew what he was thinking—must be along the lines of ‘ _your safety is more important than your happiness_ ’, but that was just bullshit.

“Besides, it isn’t as if there’s no chance of me surviving this, right? I am strong, you know. I’ve grown so much stronger this past year.”

Huffing, Harry continued on to try to calm his godfather. Really now. He should be the one who was upset and frightened the most. He was the one who was going to do the ritual after all.

“Sirius,” Harry said exasperatedly as he stood up and took hold of his godfather’s hands in his. Looking straight into the older man’s eyes, he grinned brightly. “I am not going to die. I will survive this stupid ritual, and I will come back victorious.”

Seeing his smile, Sirius looked like he was about to cry. He let out a weird sound that sounded suspiciously like a whine, but Harry couldn’t be sure as the next moment, he was suddenly being pulled into a tight embrace by the man.

“When did you become so mature? You’re leaving me behind. _Don’t_ leave me behind please.”

“Now you’re just being too dramatic. Don’t you feel embarrassed with Professor Dumbledore and Remus watching you being like this?” He huffed, rubbing the older man’s back in an attempt to calm him. The animagus only held him tighter though, refusing to let go.

“I don’t care. I don’t want you to die.” The man mumbled.

“I’m _not_ going to die.” Harry repeated exasperatedly. With a little trouble, he managed to push back the man enough to tap his own chest with his fist. “Have a little faith, Siri.”

“It’s true, my boy.” Professor Dumbledore finally spoke up, smiling at Harry’s godfather who still looked like he was about to cry. “The chance might be low, but there _is_ a chance that Harry can pull through this.”

“See? There’s nothing to worry about. There’s no way I’ll let something like this bring me down.” Harry smiled at his godfather, who finally nodded and decided to hug him once more. Seeing this, Remus heaved a sigh and let out a small smile, before he walked around the table too to join in their group hug.

The headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft smiled seeing their interaction. In his mind was a small boy of age eleven, looking around the Great Hall with wonder reflected from his green eyes. Small, innocent, and brave. Clumsy and reckless, but also endearing.

The boy was always so bright, but the light that he gave off now… it was captivating. Blinding. _Beautiful_. That little boy had now grown up into this charismatic young man, and he was so very proud of him. If only he was the one who was responsible for that change.

Albus always regretted the fact that he was always unable to do anything for that boy—he was never able to keep him safe or taught him anything. That was why when the existence of those abominable objects came to his attention, he thought that finally there was something he could do to protect that boy and tried so hard to destroy them—so that _that man_ would never be able to come back and haunt the boy once again, but in the end… it all came to this after all.

Albus watched as the boy tried to console his godfathers and closed his eyes.

“You are indeed a very strong boy, Harry. Both your magical ability and the strength of your heart.” He murmured softly, fondly. “I’ve no doubt that you can survive this, my dear boy.”

He had murmured those words so softly that he was confident that none of the three before him would be able to hear them, but imagine his surprise when the boy suddenly turned towards him shyly with a small little smile.

“Thank you, professor.” The boy whispered back at him before he turned back towards his godfather and his werewolf.

_Full of surprises as always,_ Albus thought with a smile.

He hoped… that those lights would never be extinguished.

 

 

…

 

 

After talking it over with Professor Dumbledore ( _who had insisted that he called him Albus but Harry told him that he couldn’t possibly do that ever_ ), Remus, and his godfather, they decided to wait until his summer break to do the ritual.

Not only that the professor needed some time to prepare the required ingredients, potions, magic circle, and the spell for the ritual so that everything would be perfect for him to ensure the highest chance of survival, Harry decided that he wanted to have his sixteenth birthday first before doing it.

Just in case that he didn’t make it.

No, no. What’s with the negative thinking? Like he told Sirius, he will survive. He was sure of it.

After the adults all went home to prepare for the ritual though, Harry was left alone in the silence of his living room. With nothing to do, he wandered to his kitchen and spotted the leftover dinner abandoned in the kitchen counter.

Harry pulled an empty container from his cupboard and walked towards it, deciding to store it in his refrigerator for his breakfast tomorrow.

He was scooping the cold macaroni into the container in silence when suddenly a drop of water fell onto his hand. He looked up to the ceiling, expecting a leak there, but there wasn’t anything like that. It wasn’t even raining that evening, so it should have been obvious already, but there’s no harm in looking, right?

When another drop fell to the counter, Harry finally realized that it was his tears that was falling. Horrified, Harry immediately went to wipe his eyes and found his hands were trembling slightly.

Harry was used to having his life threatened or be in a life-threatening situation ever since his childhood, but somehow it felt different this time. Despite all his self-assurance, the truth was that he was scared of going through the ritual.

This wasn’t some battle that he could fight his life for, and not having any control over his fate terrified him. He was still fifteen years old. He was still young, just starting to learn how to live. He didn’t want to die just yet. There was still so much things he wanted to do, so much things he wanted to experience.

And yet, he had to go through all this again after he had just tasted what freedom felt like.

He closed his eyes as he hugged himself tight, wishing that he could be with his friends.

His friends…

 

_“I am strong, you know. I’ve grown so much stronger this past year._ _I am not going to die. I will survive this stupid ritual, and I will come back victorious.”_

His breath hitched as the words he said earlier to his godfather rang inside his mind.

That’s right. There’s no way that he’ll lose this battle. He had gone through so much and survived all of them. Touka-san and Shouji had been teaching him how to be stronger all these times too—there’s no way a stupid ritual like this will be able to end his life. He was better than that.

 

_Besides, he still haven’t told Kaneki-kun about his feelings yet._

Harry sniffed lightly before he wiped his tears with the back of his hands. Nodding to himself, he clenched his hands in determination.

He can do this. He’ll survive this ordeal once more, and when he come back, he’ll tell Kaneki-kun about his feelings.

He closed his eyes tight, hope finally blossomed again in his chest.

He can do this.

**Next Chapter: Moonlight**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _*Completely made up don’t look it up lol_
> 
> That’s it for chapter 9! We will enter the plot of the manga next chapter!! Aaah, I’m so excited!!! This is a prelude for next chapter, where all the exciting part will be!!
> 
> By the way, **Promakhos** got all the pairings but one right! **LittleShyCloud** got half of them right too! I’m so happy that someone’s paying attention to all the hints I throw around here and there lol.
> 
> I also drew an [illustration of Shouji and Harry](http://lemony-monster.deviantart.com/art/character-profile-doodle-thingy-for-my-fic-655736770) yesterday. The link is on my profile if you’re interested. It’s just a colored doodle I make in an hour or so and it’s literally almost 3 years since I last drew anything so it might not be that good, but I tried! I made it so that you could see what I imagined their looks like since I’m no good with description lol.


	10. Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’M NOT DEAD, even though I wish I was. Also, I LIED. The exciting part will happen next chapter haha. It’s supposed to be in this chapter, but this one reached more than 13k words so I decided to stop it here. I didn’t lie when I say we’ve entered the beginning of the canon storyline though. Also, I finally managed to write the scene with a character that I’ve been wanting to write since ages ago!! I really like that scene, choppy as it is. ( **Hint:** Queen. Wears glasses.)
> 
> Happy new year by the way! I tried to finish this before 2018, but well. _Someone_ decided to buy a PS4 and spend what little free time she have playing instead of writing (or studying, like what a responsible 4th year college student should have done), but here’s the new chapter for Eine Kleine!! Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!
> 
>  **Warning:** _More_ cheese. Literally 80% of this chapter is composed of cheesy stuff lol. I _love_ unnecessary drama, if you couldn’t tell. Also, I have no idea for flight procedure and all that. Mostly when I have to board a plane I just stood there looking lost while my friend or family guide me through everything.

****Harry spent a lot of time the next morning thinking of ways to tell his friends that he was going to go back home for a while.

Telling his ghoul friends should _definitely_ be done last, since he’s almost sure that they’ll either try to physically stop him from leaving or insist in coming with him just to make sure nothing will harm him during his trip, so it was best to leave them for the last so they wouldn’t have the time to prepare.

They’re just overprotective like that sometimes, Harry thought fondly as he tried to make the swelling and redness in his eyes to go away. Putting cold towel on it did nothing, and Harry didn’t know how to step outside his apartment without everyone calling him out on it. Harry wouldn’t blame them for it either if it happened, since he _did_ look extremely silly with his puffiness and all.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Really, this was what he got from crying so much over something like that. Must be the teenage hormones messing with him.

Deciding to just skip school altogether, Harry went to the bathroom and took a quick shower before he decided to reheat the macaroni from last night. As he ate, he texted his class leader to tell her that he won’t be coming today because he wasn’t feeling well… which was not exactly a lie, because he did feel pretty horrible. After being told just the night before that there’s a chance that they might die in the near future, who wouldn’t?

He frowned as he put his dirty dish on the sink.

Maybe he should go out for today. Have fun and explore a bit. There were still many places he hadn’t been to and it could provide a distraction for him from his dark thoughts.

Before he could decide though, his doorbell suddenly rang. Someone was visiting him and it couldn’t be Sirius, Remus, or Professor Dumbledore since they never used the front door, so it must either be Kaneki-kun, Hide-kun, or his ghoul friends.

Harry didn’t have anything to worry about if it’s his human friends, if it was the ghouls though… He glanced at his dirty bowl and the remnants of other snacks he had just ate on the table.

Yup, he’s going to be in trouble.

Deciding to play it safe, Harry took out his wand and waved it a couple of times to perform a simple household cleaning charm.

A warm feeling filled him as he performed the charm. It was just a simple charm, yet it filled him with joy. Magic was a big part of him and he missed using it as much as he did when he was still in Hogwarts.

He knew that he had no right to complain since moving to Japan was his decision, but sometimes he missed being surrounded by magic. His apartment was warded quite heavily so he could perform and practice magic inside as long as there were no muggle even though he was underage, but sadly he had to wait for his O.W.Ls result to be able to gain the permit to use magic freely outside.

When the charm did its magic and everything was clean again, Harry quickly ran towards the door and opened it wide to see a familiar blond standing outside his apartment with a miserable look on his face.

“Harry!” The blond whined and clasped Harry’s shoulders suddenly, making him took a step back unconsciously because of the weight of his hands.

“Hide-kun? Why are you here so early?” Harry asked in surprise.

“I’m sorry but I’m out of money right now and my next paycheck won’t be in until next week and I’m starving do you have something I can eat please I’m seriously dying here…!” The blond bowed his head at him and Harry couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the overdramatic act of his friend.

“I don’t have anything ready left since I just ate, but I’m sure I still have some things left in my fridge. Come in, I’ll see what I can whip out for you.” Harry smiled, opening the door wider.

“My savior! You’re seriously an angel, Harry!” Hide-kun sniffed and wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes before he strutted inside like it was his own home. Harry shook his head in amusement as he closed the door back and followed the blond to the kitchen.

Telling the blond to sit still at the dining table, Harry went on to rummage his fridge to see if there’s something he could make from the scraps he had in there. Since he only have some meat left, he decided he’d make a simple _gyuudon_ for his friend.

“Is _gyuudon_ alright with you? It seems like I only have some meat left,” Harry asked the blond, who were looking at him like he had just told him the best thing he had ever heard in his entire life.

“Are you kidding? Of course I’d be alright with it! Who in their right mind would say no to _free meat_?” Hide-kun gushed back at him and he let out a laugh at his response.

“You’re way too enthusiastic about food, Hide-kun.” He stifled a smile at the blond and set to work his magic on the kitchen. Not actual magic though, he meant his cooking skills. _Gyuudon_ was a simple dish to make, so he was able to make them fairly quickly.

“Why didn’t you go to Kaneki-kun? Isn’t his place closer to yours than mine?” Harry asked as he put the steaming hot meat on top of an equally steaming rice inside a large bowl before taking it to the dining table where Hide-kun was waiting for him.

The blond grimaced as he remembered what their other friend have in his kitchen. “Kaneki only have bread and coffee in his place. I want real breakfast. Like this!”

The college student beamed, gesturing at the bowl that he put in front of him before he immediately scooped a spoonful (since Harry didn’t have chopsticks) into his mouth ignoring the fact that they were still too hot to be eaten like that. Closing his eyes as he chewed, Hide-kun moaned in delight. “Anything you make is so delicious, Harry! How are you so good at cooking? Ah, I’m in heaven…!”

“You’re exaggerating.” Harry smiled at the blond and watched him eat his meal. Hide-kun was always very lively when he ate, just like a hamster. Harry thought that the sight was very endearing. Just watching him like that already made him feel a bit more relaxed.

They spent several moments in a comfortable silence like that, until the blond finally broke it with a harmless question.

“Harry?” Hide-kun began, still chewing his meal.

“Hm?” He asked back.

Hide-kun frowned a little bit as he swallowed down his food.

“Have you been crying?” The blond continued as he put another spoonful of rice into his mouth. “Your eyes are really red.”

“O-oh…” Harry stuttered, moving to cover his eyes with his hands even though he knew it was a useless act.

The swelling had actually gone down quite a bit so he thought if he acted like he normally did it wouldn’t raise suspicion, but Hide-kun was always an observant one so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’d noticed it.

Harry was steeling himself for the questions that would surely follow when he felt a something touching the top of his head instead. It went in a rubbing motion until he raised his head back up and met Hide-kun’s concerned eyes.

“Hey, you okay, buddy?”

Hide-kun’s hand was warm on his head. It was comforting, but somehow Harry felt his eyes beginning to get glassy again. Closing his eyes to hide the unshed tears, Harry smiled at the blond.

“Mm, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

While Hide-kun didn’t look convinced at his answers, he took back his hand from the top of Harry’s head and decided to continue eating.

“Do I need to beat someone up for you?” The blond said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as he chewed on another spoonful.

Harry’s eyes widened at the question and the implication of it. Although his face had reddened quite a bit from the suggestive tone of the older boy, the concern the blond was expressing for him made his chest feel warm too and he couldn’t help it when a small giggle escaped his lips.

“No, it’s alright, Hide-kun. If I wanted to beat someone up, I think I can do it myself anyway.” He told his friend, wiping a little tear of laughter from his eye.

“Oh! That’s true, isn’t it? I forgot you’re stronger than me.” Hide-kun scratched his cheeks sheepishly as he remembered how he beat up his molester and defeated a ghoul just a few months back. When he saw that Harry had fallen silent again, he leaned forward as he shoved another spoonful of rice and meat into his mouth.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” The blond said as he chewed, and Harry shook his head at him with a small smile.

“No, I’m fine. It’s just some… family troubles, I guess.” He said, trying not to say anything that would make the blond worry anymore. “It’s nothing, really. You don’t need to worry about it. I was just being a baby and exaggerating everything.”

“Hey, hey, don’t be like that.” Hide-kun said quickly, frowning as he put down his spoon. “You’re human. It’s totally normal that you cry when you’re feeling down.”

“But…”

“No, you listen to me, Harry.” The blond cut his words before he could say what was in his mind. “Don’t depreciate yourself like that. You’re one of the strongest and bravest person I’ve ever seen, alright? Whatever’s making you cry, it must be something terrible. You’re not just being a baby, okay?”

Looking into the blond’s unwavering eyes, Harry felt water began to fill his eyes again.

His friend truly believed what he was saying about him… even though he had never thought of himself as someone brave or strong. Most of the time, it was just luck helping him after all. But Hide-kun truly believed that he was strong, and Harry wanted to be the strong person his friend believed he was.

He didn’t want to disappoint him.

“Yeah…” He said, wiping at his tears. “I’m sorry for saying things like that.”

“It’s okay. Just don’t say things like that again, kiddo. You’re allowed to feel down and cry like us normal mortals too, you know?”

“Mm.” Harry made an agreeing sound as he wiped the rest of his face with his own sleeve. When he was finished, he nodded at the frowning blond with a small smile. “Thank you, Hide-kun.”

“Come on then. Your eyes are going to be more swollen if you keep crying like that.”

“You just told me that it’s okay to cry!”

Hide-kun snickered at him and stood up from the chair he had been sitting on, his hands on the table to support his body.

“Great! Now that I’m full and you’ve stopped crying, should we go somewhere and have fun together?”

“Wait, you’re not going to class?”

“Well, you’re not going to school and I can’t just leave you alone when you’re like this.” Hide-kun said as he pulled a face, making it seem like he had no other choice but Harry could tell that his friend was worried about him and that really touched him. Sniffing slightly, Harry faked being displeased at the older boy.

“You’re just in it for the free lunch.” Harry said, but a small smile was tugging at his lips. Hide-kun grinned back at him and winked.

“You know me so well.” The blond said, perking up when he mentioned food. “Speaking of lunch, Harry! Please let me eat here until my next paycheck!”

Harry threw a dirty napkin at his face, but the blond ducked before it hit him. They shared a laugh before Harry shook his head.

“Ask Kaneki-kun if he wanted to join us too. He needs to eat healthier food, honestly.” He said as he raised from his seat. “You too, Hide-kun. You eat too much junk food. Stop eating hamburger at that restaurant just because the waitresses there are pretty! That’s why you’re always broke!”

“Aww, but I didn’t eat there just because of the waitresses! Oh wait… don’t tell me, you’re jealous because Kaneki loved to eat there too?” The older boy grinned widely as he draped himself over Harry’s shoulder.

“…I’m putting green peppers in your meals from now on.” He told the blond curtly.

“Wait, Harry! I’m just playing around with you, don’t put green peppers in my meals!”

Huffing a smile, Harry took the blond’s empty bowl and put it in the sink.

 

 

 

Hide-kun ended up actually ditching class and went with him to wherever he wanted to go. Harry felt a little bad for making the older boy missed his class, but he couldn’t help but feel a little happy by the gesture.

They ended up walking around Tokyo, visiting tourist spots and attractions, took a lot of photos, and bought snacks from all over the place while the blond acted like his personal guide. Tokyo was as busy as always, even on weekdays where most people should either be at school or work. The town was bursting with life and activity and being surrounded by that kind of atmosphere really calmed him down. It was a right decision to be there.

Hide-kun was very kind to him and made him laugh so hard that he was wheezing for breath. It was the first time in a while that he had had so much fun that he felt a little guilty. For what, Harry wasn’t sure, but the feeling still settled in his chest somehow.

They almost ran into trouble when a couple of old ladies seemed to notice him while they were buying some _taiyaki_ from a really famous stand. Harry could hear snippets of their conversation, wondering why he wasn’t at school at this time of the day, but they quickly noticed his foreign features and decided that he must be a tourist.

Not wrong, but it wasn’t exactly right either, Harry thought with a relieved sigh as he accepted the _taiyaki_ from the seller. Quickly walking away from that store so the old ladies wouldn’t have the chance to be nosy and question them, they suddenly passed a store that caught Harry’s eyes.

A beautiful white lace one-piece dress worn by a mannequin was on the display and somehow Harry’s mind imagined seeing Hinami wearing the dress. The little ghoul always wore her mother’s old clothes that was several size too big on her. It would be nice if she could wear something like this once in a while.

 _It would suit her_ , Harry thought idly as he chewed on the fish-shaped sweets in his hands.

Hinami was a bright girl. She was sweet and kind, and she definitely deserved better than the life that she had now. She deserved to go to school. To make friends. She deserved to wear nice things. Harry knew that it wasn’t her parents’ faults—they were kind people who worked as hard as they could, but Hinami deserved better all the same.

Actually, not just Hinami. All ghouls deserved a better life. Harry knew from listening to his friends’ stories that most ghouls lived in poverty and unable to receive a good education that a lot of them couldn’t even read. This was one of the reason why they did bad things too—because their situation forced them to do it to survive.

Harry sighed longingly. _If only I could do something to change it._

Of course, a certain blond just _have_ to misunderstand the meaning behind his sigh.

“Did you develop a hobby of cross-dressing, Harry?” Hide-kun said, munching on his still-steaming _taiyaki_ as he hooked an arm over Harry’s shoulder. Harry started, looking scandalized before he glared at the grinning blond as the words finally sunk in.

“Of course not! I was thinking that this would suit my friend, that’s all!” He hissed at the older boy.

“Oooh, a ‘ _friend’,_ huh? Are you cheating on Kaneki, Harry?” Hide-kun grinned, teasing him as he poked Harry’s cheek with his finger.

“Okay, now that’s just wrong. She’s like, _twelve_ Hide-kun.” Actually… wait, was she even twelve? He honestly forgot. She just looked so _young_. Shaking his head, Harry slapped the blond’s hand away from his cheek with a huff as he continued his retort. “Also, I can’t cheat on him if we’re not even dating.”

“True.” The blond snickered as he too looked at the mannequin appreciatively. “You’re going to buy it?”

“I don’t know.” Harry mused as he peered at the slightly visible price tag on the dress. _9.800 JPY, was it expensive?_ “Hinami always wore her mother’s old clothes. I think she deserves to have nice things once in a while, but I’m afraid that she might see it as a charity and became burdened if I gift it to her.”

Hearing his answer, Hide-kun smiled. An actual, gentle and kind smile, not the teasing kind that reminded Harry of a certain fox. Harry almost averted his eyes bashfully when he felt the blond linking their arms together.

“Buy it. No one would think of a gift from you as a burden, Harry.” The blond grinned, gesturing at the headphone he had hung around his neck. “At least I would _never_. I _love_ it when you give me gifts and attention.”

Harry gave him a judging stare. “That’s because you’re an attention whore.”

Hide-kun gasped, scandalized.

“Oh my god. Who taught you such crude words?!”

“Actually, you did. Remember that time when you got really drunk and Kaneki-kun had to haul you to my place because he didn’t want you to be alone and cause trouble for others?” Harry quipped, amused by the older boy’s reaction. “You started trash-talking some girl who was rude to Kaneki-kun in class after that. I picked up quite a lot of words from you.”

“No way! I would _never_ do that!” Hide-kun gasped in outrage before he paused, looking thoughtful. “Wait. Actually, I think I would. Anyone who are rude to our darling Kaneki deserves to be trash-talked.”

Harry snorted at that and entered the store, followed closely by the blond human.

There was a bell chime when he opened the door, and although he couldn’t tell from the display outside, the interior of the store was surprisingly big. It was lit by natural lights from the window and the décor was simple with mostly wooden furniture and decorations.

The two employees were chatting by the cashier immediately straightened up when they realized they had a customer.

“いらっしゃいませ！ようこそ、フロリアへ！何かお手伝いしましょうか？” One of the employees greeted him as she smiled cheerfully before she actually _looked_ at him and her eyes widened as a gasp left her painted pink lips. “え、やばい！彩夏ちゃん、外国人のお客さんよ！”

The girl panicked, sending a _please-help-me_ look to her friend, who shook her head back at her, also panicking.

“ええ、どうしよう？英語がよく話せないんだけど･･･”

She looked at him, looked at her friend again, and then looked back at him, looking like she was about to cry. Taking pity on her, Harry smiled in reassurance and make a small waving motion with his hand. “日本語でいいよ。”

“Oh, thank goodness!” The girl said before she realized what she said and she slapped a hand over her mouth, blushing in embarrassment. “I mean, we’re so sorry, Sir. My English is mediocre at best and I’m the best from all of the other employees, so…”

“It’s fine!” He waved off her apology with an embarrassed flush too, glaring at his friend who was laughing behind him. “We didn’t mean to startle you too. I’m currently studying here, so I can speak Japanese even though I’m not that good.”

“Eh?! No way, you’re really good! If I didn’t see your face I couldn’t even tell that you’re a foreigner!” The girl said earnestly, and Harry smiled at her.

“You’re really kind.” He said, causing the girl to redden once more somehow. “But actually, there’s something I need your help with. Is there a smaller size for the dress you have on display there?”

“Of course! Our shop cater to every body size after all. You wish to see the white lace one, is that correct?” The girl chirped cheerfully, gesturing him to follow her deeper inside the store where there’re more clothing displayed on the rack.

“Yeah. Actually, if you have any other dresses like that one too, please show me as well.” Harry said thoughtfully. Hide-kun raised an eyebrow to that as he walked closely behind them.

“You’re planning to buy more than that one?” The blond asked as he hurried his steps. Harry nodded at him.

“Well we’re already here, might as well buy something for Touka-san and my friends back home too.” Harry said, cheeks flushing slightly. “I’ve never gone shopping like this before, so this is kind of exciting. Maybe I’ll splurge a little.”

“Are you sure? Harry, I saw the price tag on one of the sweater earlier and it’s over 10.000 Yen a piece you know!” Hide-kun said, whispering so that his words won’t be heard by the shop assistant who was busy picking up dresses to show him.

“It’ll be fine I think. I never used a lot of what Sirius gave me every month, so it’s been piling up. Buying things for the people I like seems like a good way of spending all that money.” Harry smiled, whispering back at him.

Hide-kun looked exasperated by his answer though.

“Ehhhh… what’s with that answer, you damn rich kid! If you have that kind of money, then treat me and Kaneki burgers at Big Girl!”

“Nope. You need to eat healthy foods too, Hide-kun!”

“And you need to be taught money management, kid! Seriously, you’ll go bankrupt like this!”

“No I won’t!” Harry huffed, rubbing at his hurting forehead. “Thanks for mentioning Kaneki-kun though. Maybe I’ll buy something for him. Hide-kun too, if you found something you like, tell me!”

“You’re hopeless.” The blond said finally, shaking his head in pity before he immediately perked up seeing something displayed on the far wall beside the cashier. “What about that green jacket though? It looked like something Kaneki would wear.”

“Oh, you’re right! And that yellow and black one beside it is definitely your style, right?” Harry beamed before he waved at the shop assistant. “Excuse me Miss, I’ll take them too, please!”

“Wait no, you don’t have to buy anything for me!”

“Too bad, it’s my money.” Harry said, giving the blond his tongue in a mocking gesture before he laughed and danced away from the blond’s tickle attack.

Things got a little out of hand after that and Hide-kun ended up failing to stop him from splurging too much. He finally came out of that little shop with six more shopping bags in his hands, leaving an ecstatic shop assistant and an exasperated blond that trailed behind him as he lamented the loss of all that money.

Despite his much lighter wallet—actually he used debit cards, but you know what he meant—he felt satisfied somehow. Lighter, like he all his stresses just went away. Maybe the rumor that spending money can relieve stress was true? Or maybe that was because of…

Harry glanced at the older boy who was walking behind him while he looked over the many people walking across the road and let a soft smile grace his face.

No, it definitely wasn’t because of spending money.

Seeing the blond’s figure, bathed in the redness of the sun, a thought suddenly came to him.

Maybe… Hide-kun was right. He shouldn’t be so hard on himself. Maybe… maybe he should start on trusting his friends more and rely on them.

Harry bit his lip nervously, his grips on the shopping bags in his hands tightening as he steeled himself. It might be silly of him, but the idea of opening himself and being seen as vulnerable by his friends was scary to him.

It took some time, but finally, in a small voice Harry voiced his thoughts.

“I have to go back home.”

The older boy tore his gaze from the takoyaki stand and came to face him.

“I know silly. That’s why we’re heading there right now.” Hide-kun said, a smirk on his lips. Harry stifled a laugh at his response, shaking his head at the blond’s misunderstanding.

“No, Hide-kun. I mean back to my country.” He clarified with a small smile. It seemed that the older boy was not expecting his words and he visibly wilted as the words finally sunk into his head.

“Oh.” Hide-kun said shortly, looking disheartened. Still, the blond tried to be optimistic and beamed at him with exaggerated hand gestures. “Well, you’ll come back here again, right? Bring me souvenirs!”

“I will if I could.” Harry smiled nervously and licked his suddenly dry lips. _This is it, Harry. You cannot back out now._ Taking a deep breath, Harry finally decided to just get it over with. “Don’t tell Kaneki-kun, alright? I don’t want him to worry, but…”

Harry bit his lower lip and avoided the other’s eyes, which were starting to show concern because of his hesitation.

“Hide-kun, I… I will be going through a… _kind_ of surgery back home.” He finally said and Hide-kun gaped at him before he rushed him with questions, concern in his voice.

“What? Why? Harry, are you sick?”

“Something like that,” he answered vaguely with a hesitant smile, not wanting to go into details because he didn’t want to lie too much to his friend. Averting his eyes so that he won’t be able to see the blond’s reaction, Harry continued in a small voice. “I can’t tell you the details, but… I won’t lie, the mortality rate is really high.”

“I guess… I was kinda scared,” Harry admitted shyly, cheeks flushing softly as he looked at the ground before a small but genuine smile appeared on his face. “But because you’re here, Hide-kun… because you cheered me up… I think I’m fine now. Thank you.”

The words was said in a small, shy voice, but somehow, he saw Hide-kun’s eyes turned glassy after he said it. Before he realized what was happening, Harry felt two strong arms wrapping themselves around his body and suddenly he found himself inside the older boy’s embrace.

“You’ll be fine.” He heard Hide-kun told him, voice near whisper as the arms around his body tightening into an almost painful embrace. “You’re gonna be fine, and you’re gonna come back here and tell Kaneki that you like him, you hear me?”

Hearing the raw emotion in the blond’s whispered words, somehow, his vision became blurry again. Goodness, when had he become such a crybaby?

“Yeah. That’s my plan, actually,” he joked lightly, trying to suppress his own emotions. Closing his eyes and praying that the darkening sky will conceal his tears, Harry nodded and pressed his cheek on the blond’s chest. Just like his smile and personality, Hide-kun’s hold was warm and comforting.

“Thank you, Hide-kun.”

They held that position for quite a while, not minding the passerby that stared at them weirdly for hugging in the middle of a crowded street. When Hide-kun finally let him go, the older boy gave him a big smile and slapped his back loudly, making him wince.

“Come on. Let’s go home. We’ll order pizza, call Kaneki over, and have a scary movie marathon all night,” the blond told him. “We will have so much fun you’ll forget everything that worries you.”

Hide-kun paused.

“Are you alright with not being at a hospital though? Should I call 119? Wait, are you alright with eating pizza? Did you became like this because I forced you to eat so much junk food with us?”

Harry laughed as he assured the blond that _no it wasn’t because of junk food_ and that he was alright not being at a hospital because he was an outpatient, and, just like that… he felt the burden that he was carrying felt like it had been lifted by half.

Hide-kun fulfilled his promise and the three of them spend the night together, having fun. It was the most fun Harry had in quite some time and he was grateful for the both of them. When the sun rose the next day, Harry found himself having more confidence in himself. Confidence that he would be able to overcome his difficulties this time too, just like every other times when life threw these kind of things to him.

Harry smiled and closed his eyes.

He’ll win this. For his sakes and everyone who loved him.

 

 

 

Harry told his classmates over karaoke that day that he would be going back to England for ‘family business’ for indeterminable time and, surprisingly, not just the girls—some of the boys that he was close to also burst into tears asking him not to go.

Some of them, led by Takizawa-san, even plotted to kidnap and smuggle him into one of their house so that he wouldn’t be able to go back and they only dropped the ridiculous idea after he assured them that if everything went well with his family, he would probably be able to come back a little after the 2nd term started.

To show him their support and as a form of their prayer that he will return to them safely, they organized a small party for him, but being a bunch of rich kids, they didn’t really share his view of a ‘small’ party since they reserved a whole restaurant for it.

They even made a banner that said: “Come back soon and safely, our savior! We love you here!” in reference to what he did last year at the culture festival that embarrassed him to no end and confused the servers at the restaurant since the fact that he had defeated a ghoul never made it to public—Shinohara-san promised to keep his anonymity at his request and the man did a good job at it. Everyone knew about the attack, but because his name was kept out of it, he managed to have a peaceful school life.

The party was chaotic, but Harry felt somehow flattered and happy by their overreaction since it showed him just how much the people around him loved him once again.

He didn’t mind all that, but… the rest of their affection was, you could say… troublesome.

Since the day he told them that he was going back home, which was roughly two days ago, Harry had been called out by approximately 16 girls and 2 boys who wanted to confess their feelings for him.

Harry had always been a people-pleaser (except towards assholes like some of the Slytherins back home as well as their Head of House), so having to turn them down was troubling him and making him feel guilty and when he told Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun about it, the both of them only laugh at him without offering him a solution or advice on a better way to turn down someone.

“Stop it, I’m seriously troubled here…” Harry pouted, fighting down the blush that would surely make them tease him even more.

Hide-kun chuckled, wiping a tear that leaked out with his finger. “Isn’t it a good thing that you’re so loved by your friends?”

“Well, I guess so, but having to turn them down makes me feel bad,” he grumbled moodily as he stirred his iced chocolate with his straw. Hide-kun positively glowed at his words, like he had just been waiting for him to say that, and Harry eyed him suspiciously.

“Well, in that case, you should just accept all of their confessions and build yourself a harem! Right Kaneki?” The blond said as he leaned forward and grinned widely, wiggling his eyebrows too for good measure.

“Stupid! A-as if I could do that!” Harry retorted, flushing red at the blond’s jest.

“Stop teasing him, Hide.” Kaneki-kun said, chuckling lightly. Harry immediately pushed the blond’s face back with his palm with a furiously whispered ‘ _yeah, you do that, Hide-kun’._ As he bickered with the blond, Kaneki-kun suddenly let out a sigh.

“But… I can’t believe you’re going back in two weeks, Harry-kun.” Kaneki-kun said, looking dejected at the idea.

Seeing this, Harry smiled and flicked the older boy’s too-long bangs.

“Only for a month or so, remember? I’ll be back before you noticed I was even gone.” Harry said reassuringly. Hide-kun too nodded along with his words supportively.

“What he said. Also, you’ll still have me to entertain you,” the blond said as he nodded sagely before a mischievous glint entered his eyes as he grinned at his oldest friend. “Trust me, you won’t feel bored at all because I have _plans_ for us this summer, Kaneki Ken. _Plans._ ”

Kaneki-kun gulped. “Harry-kun, could you take me with you please. I’m scared.”

Harry sniggered and the blond gasped in disbelief.

“Rude! Rude, all of you! I’ll have you know that I—”

Right at that moment, the bell that signaled that someone just opened the door chimed and the three of them reflexively turned their head towards the sound. Standing in front of the door was a beautiful woman with tall stature and purplish long hair. She was wearing glasses and Harry could see the eyes behind those red frames were kind.

Noticing their stares, she smiled sweetly before she went to greet the person behind the cashier, Koma-san, whose pleasant demeanor changed completely the moment he saw her.

Harry furrowed his brows, concerned, but the woman acted civil and sweet towards Koma-san the entirety of their interaction.

“Oh.”

Harry looked at Kaneki-kun, who had unconsciously let out the small sound. Hide-kun grinned and draped an arm over his friend’s shoulders.

“Hmm, what’s this? You knew her, Kaneki?”

Surprisingly, Kaneki-kun blushed at that.

“N-no. I just…” Kaneki-kun bit his lower lip, glancing briefly at the beautiful woman before he dropped his gaze towards his drink again. “I saw her once before—the last time I came here.”

Harry’s curiosity was piqued. “You come to Anteiku alone often, Kaneki-kun?”

“Sometimes. The atmosphere in here is good for when I want to read,” the older boy smiled shyly. “I’m glad you introduced me to Anteiku, Harry-kun.”

“I see.” Harry said finally, feeling a bit uncomfortable at the thought of the older boy going to the café alone since so many things could have gone wrong with how many ghouls coming and going there. “I’m glad that you liked it here so much.”

Sensing his uneasiness, Hide-kun quickly steered their conversation to another topic. Harry felt grateful, but he still couldn’t erase his uneasiness completely. Especially after seeing that woman and seeing Kaneki-kun’s interest in her…

No, it was not simple jealousy. He was almost certain that—

 

_—That woman was a ghoul._

And not the kind of ghoul that scavenge for corpse too, it seemed. She might even be a malicious one, from the way Koma-san act around her—cautious.

Harry bit his lip with worry, wondering if he should do something when—

“Harry-kun?”

Harry started.

“Oh! Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. What was it, Kaneki-kun?” Harry asked calmly, trying to still his racing heart. Kaneki-kun, the gentle boy that he was, looked over him with concern in his eyes.

“No, it’s just—Hide and I have to leave for our part-time jobs soon… are you going with us or do you want to stay here a bit longer?” Kaneki-kun asked him before he frowned and put the back of his hand on Harry’s forehead. “Are you alright? You look really pale, Harry-kun. You’re not sick, are you?”

Harry smiled slightly at the obvious concern in the older boy’s expression, but shook his head firmly.

“No, I’m alright. I was just lost in thought, Kaneki-kun,” he said with a light laugh to throw off the older boy’s suspicion. “And I’ll stay here for a bit longer. I made a promise with Hinami-chan that I would read a new novel with her today. I still haven’t given her the things I got with Hide-kun last week too.”

“Oh, a new novel?” The black haired bookworm perked up at that.

Harry chuckled. “Yeah, she’s been wanting to read The Black Goat’s Eggs since forever. I thought it was a little too mature for her, but her mother gave me the okay last week, so I finally bought the book for her so we could read it together.”

When Harry saw the sparkles in his eyes, he immediately put a finger on his lips and hissed at the older boy good-humoredly.

“Ssh! Don’t spoil it! I’ll tell you all about what I think of it later after we finished it, okay?” Harry smiled, and Kaneki-kun returned it with a small laugh.

“I’m holding you on to that.” The older boy said with a small laugh before he put down some money on the table. “Here, please pay for both Hide’s and my orders, okay? The cashier seemed to be going to the staff room.”

“He did?” Harry looked around and indeed, Koma-san wasn’t there anymore. Probably called to do something for Yoshimura-san in the refrigerator room.

Harry shuddered.

“Alright. Good luck with your jobs okay, you two?”

After waving them both goodbye, Harry went back to his drinks. Alone. With just that ghoul-woman in the room with him. Harry glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and saw that she was just reading a book quietly while sipping her coffee occasionally.

Harry sighed.

Okay, maybe his feelings were unfounded then. Maybe it _was_ his jealousy after all. She looked like a nice woman, honestly. Why did he ever thought that she could be someone—bad? Dangerous? He should have known better that not every ghouls are bad since he was friends with a few himself.

Shaking his head, Harry pulled out his phone, scrolling through the messages his friends and Sirius sent him.

 _Full of emoji again_ … Harry stifled a smile at that.

His godfather had recently bought a smartphone for himself and discovered the ‘wonders of emoji’. It was ridiculous to see how much emoji the man managed to sneak in his messages, but it was kind of cute too, in a way. That man refused to grow up even now that he had reclaimed his title as the Head of the Black Family.

He looked up from his phone and nearly dropped it from shock.

There, sitting in front of him, was that ghoul woman.

Harry didn’t hear her move at all.

“Oh, I’m so sorry for surprising you! I’ve been calling you for a while, but you were so absorbed in your phone that you didn’t hear me,” the girl said, her voice melodic and apologetic, but Harry felt a cold shiver ran through his body at the sound of it.

_It was fake._

“Um, sorry. My godfather was texting me.” Harry replied, trying to play along with her ruse to find out what she wanted even though he really wanted to just get the hell out of there. “Is there anything you need from me?”

“N-no, not really,” she said, waving her hands in front of her with a shy blush, looking every part like the delicate flower she was trying to portray. “It’s just… I overheard you saying with your friend earlier about The Black Goat’s Eggs? Do you like Takatsuki Sen too?”

Harry’s mouth tightened.

So she was eavesdropping, huh.

Harry laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head as his eyes wildly searched around for an opportunity to escape. “I… can’t say I do. I suppose I enjoyed their works, but they’re not my favorite writer, I guess. Their works are too dark for my taste.”

_Where was Koma-san when you need him? Koma-san! Come back quickly please!_

“Oh my! I suppose some of her works are a little dark, but I think that kind of darkness is enticing and rare to see in fictions these days. Her writing style is so immersive, I felt like I’m living through the protagonist’s life when I read her works.” The purple-haired ghoul smiled charmingly as she leaned forward in her excitement to talk about her favorite author. “It felt real, like she had experienced it before she poured it into words, don’t you think?”

“I… I suppose? It does felt real.” _Too real, actually. It was what makes him scared in the first place,_ Harry thought, before he finally realized what she had said. “Wait, Takatsuki Sen’s female?” _Argh, priority, Harry! Priority!!_

The ghoul giggled behind her dainty hand. “Yes! And she’s quite the beautiful young lady too. I’ve been to her signing events a few times before,” she said with a smile. “Say, I heard that she’s holding another event this month. Want to go together?”

Harry blinked. “Wait, what?”

The girl leaned forward as she moved a hand to put over his own. “Please? I want to get to know you better.”

Before her hand could touch him though, a bigger, pudgier hand suddenly enclosed her wrist tightly and pulled it away from Harry’s vicinity roughly. Harry gasped and saw Koma-san standing beside their table with a terrifying look on his face.

“Don’t touch him, Rize.” Koma-san snarled, fury burning in his voice. “This kid is one of us. I won’t forgive you if you touch him.”

Harry saw Koma-san leaned closer to her face and in the coldest voice Harry ever heard him using, he hissed the words, “ _We_ won’t,” before he released her wrist—practically throwing it at her, and yet, the girl didn’t seem ruffled at all.

Instead, she laughed.

“Oh my. Koma-san. No need to be so aggressive here. I’m just talking to him, see?” The girl, _Rize,_ smiled pleasantly at the waiter. “But really? He smells different. A bit spicy, but not too sharp like us. He’s more like…”

“Really soft and refreshing, but appetizing at the same time. It’s a curious smell.” She said as she inhaled the air around him with her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes again, her eyes were the red and black of a hungry ghoul.

“It smelled… _delicious_. Don’t you think so, _Koma-san_?” The girl said, looking enthralled by what it was she was smelling from him.

In that moment, time seemed to go in slow motion for Harry as he saw the girl’s lips moved to form those words. Harry felt his heart thumping frantically, and for the first time in a really long time, he felt genuine _fear_.

His breath hitched and he saw the smile on her face grew wider and wider as she noticed his uneasiness.

“ _Rize._ ” Koma-san snapped harshly, and the woman only laughed again, waving her hand in front of her as to dismiss the older man’s warning.

“Don’t be so serious! I wouldn’t do anything that would make Anteiku my enemy, Ko-ma _-_ san ♡!” She smirked, twirling a lock of her hair with her finger.

To his surprise, Koma-san didn’t claw her face like he looked like he wanted to do. Instead, he tried to have a civil conversation with her, even with fury in his eyes.

“Then stop coming here to look for food. You know the rules. Customers of Anteiku are off limit—humans or not. Yoshimura-san have decided to forgive you for your first offense, but if you do it again, you will be banned from coming here forever, understand?”

“Yes, yes. You Anteiku ghouls have no sense of fun, huh?” Rize smirked again, looking amused at the warning instead of cowed.

“Yes, we don’t.” Koma-san answered her seriously and Rize sighed at his answer.

“How boring.” She said before she pushed herself up and gathered her things and pulled out her wallet. “I’m out of here. Here’s money for my coffee. And for his too.”

Harry jumped on his seat, startled.

“What?”

“Think of it as an apology for mistaking you for a human, _Har-ry-kun_ ♡!” She winked at him before smiling pleasantly at the waiter again. “Bye, Koma-san! I’ll come back next week.”

“You don’t have to.” Koma-san answered as she left with the sound of a bell.

Once she was truly gone, Koma-san suddenly kicked a chair until it flew to the far side of the wall and broke into little broken pieces, making Harry flinch in surprise.

“Fuck. Goddamn her and her fuckhole of a mouth.” The older man hissed beneath his breath as he ran a hand through his carefully styled pompadour.

Harry hesitantly touched his arm. “Koma-san?”

Koma-san’s head snapped towards him, but when he realized who had touched him, he gradually relaxed and let out a long sigh. Harry frowned, never seeing this side of his brother figure.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, Harry-kun. Please don’t repeat that okay? It’s a bad word.” The older man said distractedly, before he noticed the mess he made and he groaned out loud. “Oh man. Now I have to clean this up. Why did she have to show up today of all times?”

Seeing Koma-san’s sigh, Harry couldn’t help but smile a little.

“I’m going to tell Irimi-san you taught me bad words.” Harry teased him, trying to lighten the situation a little.

“Oh my god. Please don’t. She’ll kill me.”

Harry laughed at that and stood up.

“Come on, I’ll help you clean up.”

Koma-san shook his head with a wry smile. “Nah, it’s fine. I can handle this much.”

“Okay… if you say so, Koma-san.” Harry sat back down awkwardly, watching as the older man began to gather the destroyed pieces of the chair inside a plastic bag. He looked down and twiddled his thumbs together, before in a small voice he told the man, “Thank you, for before.”

He felt Koma-san glanced at him from where he was cleaning.

“It’s fine.” He heard the man said casually. “But if you see her again, call one of us, alright? The manager or Yomo-kun wouldn’t even mind if you called him. Ask for our help, okay?”

Harry nodded. “Okay. Can I ask why though?”

Koma-san turned towards him, his eyes hard and serious.

“That woman is _dangerous_ , Harry,” the older man said, stressing the word ‘dangerous’. “She came to our ward after she was hunted by the Doves for murdering dozens of humans. Unlike most ghouls who ate once a week, she had this terrible habit of binge-eating her preys, see.”

The man paused and Harry waited for his words expectantly.

“Before she left… she killed the leader of the ghouls in the 11th ward—the place she used to live in—and several others.” Koma-san explained finally. “As much as I hate to admit it, she’s powerful. More than that, she’s skilled.”

Koma-san approached him, and Harry looked up to see the older man smiling sadly at him. “Don’t go near her, alright? I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

He said those words as he ruffled Harry’s hair.

Harry could only nod at that, suddenly remembering that Koma-san said that his little brother was dead—possibly even killed _._ Harry promised himself then, he would never allow Koma-san to feel the same sadness of having someone important to him taken away like that again, and as much as it humbled him to say it, he _was_ someone important to the older man now.

“Alright.” Harry promised him with a reassuring smile. “I won’t approach her and will call one of you to help me if she did, Koma-san.”

His words seemed to reassure the older man who went back to his cheery mood again, and not long after he finished cleaning up Yoshimura-san came out of the backroom for his shift behind the bar, Shouji came dropping by with Hinami hanging on his back, Touka-san came home from school, and everything slowly became _right_ again.

As they came to him with smiles on their faces, Harry looked at all of them and thought, he wanted to protect them too just like they would protect him. They were a part of his family now too, so… when he came back here after the ritual was done, he would tell them the truth—about what he was. About everything.

He will be honest with them, and hope with everything he got that they loved him enough to forgive him for lying to them.

But, for now… he wanted to bask in their affection and shower them with his in return.

Harry looked at his friends and with the largest grin he could, he said:

“Hinami-chan, everyone, come here! I have something for you guys.”

 

 

 

The two weeks after that went smoothly. Harry met with Shouji a lot for his tutoring lessons because of his end of term exam and had to stop his self-defense training with Touka-san or his reading sessions with Hinami, but since the tutoring was done at Anteiku’s upper floor, both girls still see him often, either to disturb or encourage him.

It turned out that Hinami was so pleased with his gifts for her. The dresses he got her was always worn on her body whenever he saw her. Because of this, he grew closer to Ryouko-san—her mother—too, who was both grateful and somehow bashful by his attention to her daughter before Touka-san and Shouji explained to her that he got something for everyone, not just Hinami.

It turned out that her mother thought that he was _courting_ Hinami with gifts and such, which embarrassed him to no end. Hinami was a nice and precious girl, but she felt more like a sister to him.

While Hinami was more than pleased with her dresses, Touka-san… not so much.

The purple-haired ghoul blushed and glared at him for being ‘cheeky’ with her for getting her a dress like Hinami too, but Harry could see that she was kind of happy with it (even though Harry was sure that he wouldn’t see her wear it _ever_ ). Harry had predicted this though and got her a set of hairpin and a knitted cardigan in dark color for her too.

For Shouji he got a light brown jacket that matched his blond hair and a wristwatch, which honestly cost him a bit, but Shouji (no matter how annoying he was) was still one of his closest friend, his mentor, and also his protector since he came to Japan, so he was alright with it.

Koma-san, Yoshimura-san, Irimi-san, and even Yomo-san each got something from him too—just little trinkets that he thought they’d appreciate since he wasn’t sure of their fashion type. Predictably, even though he was happy, Koma-san scolded him for his poor money management afterwards.

Harry found himself unable to answer honestly when they asked him why he got them all those things though, instead he lied and told them it was because his birthday was near _and_ he got scolded again because they said it should be _him_ who received presents from all of them on his birthday, not the other way.

But Harry was happy giving them things. They have done so much for him after all. Took him under their wings, taught him things, protected him, befriended him, and so much more. It might not be much, but it felt like him giving back to them somehow.

The days kept on going on like normal, and before he knew it, his second term had come to an end.

The last day of school before his summer break, as well as the day of his departure back to England, Harry decided to visit Anteiku for possibly the last time to finally say his goodbye to the people that had took care of him during his stay in this lovely country since it wouldn’t be right for him to just disappear on them like that.

But as he opened the door to the quaint café he had begun to associate as his second home, he wasn’t greeted with the usual warmth of Koma-san’s greetings or the gentle murmurs of the customers. Instead, what greeted him was a cold feeling and silence.

The light tinkling sound of the bell rang uncomfortably sharp in the silence.

“We’re so sorry, but we’re closed today—oh, Harry-kun?” A gentle voice came from behind wall where the stairs are, and Harry turned towards the source of the voice to see Irimi-san walking down the stairs. He raised one hand to wave at her and flashed her a hesitant smile.

“Yeah, it’s me.” He said as a greeting before he looked around the empty café. “Where’s everyone?”

Irimi-san walked up to him and flipped the _open_ sign on the door to _close_ before she shut the door and locked it. Once she did that, she breathed out a sigh and covered her eyes with one hand.

She looked really tired.

“They’re upstairs, it’s… this is not a good time for a visit, Harry-kun.” Irimi-san said. “Asaki-san… Hinami-chan’s father was killed last night.”

And suddenly, Harry felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“W-what? How?” He asked, almost choking on his own words in his disbelief. It was just last week that he saw the man for the first time, when he was walking Hinami-chan to her home after she accidentally stayed too long at Anteiku, and now the man’s gone.

“The Doves found him when he was scavenging for food. They took his body with them. Probably to make weapons out of him.” Irimi-san answered him, wrapping her arms around herself, showing just how uneasy she felt about the whole situation. “Goodness, this is messed up. How could they do this to them?”

Harry clenched his hands.

“How’s Ryouko-san and Hinami-chan?”

“Hinami-chan’s fine. I don’t think she quite understands yet that her father’s already gone. Ryouko-san though…” The ghoul sent a tired look towards the stairs and sighed again. “Well, she’s… coping. The manager has agreed to support both her and Hinami-chan, so that’s good, but…”

Irimi-san shook her head and tried to force on a smile onto her pretty face.

“Anyway, what brought you here today, Harry-kun?”

“Um… actually, I want to tell everyone that I will be going back to my country tonight.” Harry said, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably as he prepared himself to lie to them once again.

“Something came up there while I was gone, and… I’ll try to settle things as quickly as I can, but if the worst case happened, I might not be able to come back here again, so… this is goodbye, I guess. At least for now, yeah?” Harry flashed a small smile at her, trying to lighten the mood, but he figured that there was something in his expressions that made her suspect the worst.

“Oh, Harry-kun…” She sighed and took hold of his hands, gripping them tightly in her bigger ones. In a worried tone, she continued, “It’s something dangerous, isn’t it?”

Not answering her question, Harry looked down to avoid her gaze. Seeing their connected hands, Harry gave it a small squeeze to reassure her.

“I’m sorry for not telling you earlier… and this is such a bad time for all of you too.” Harry said, forcing a smile on his face so that he didn’t worry her any more than she already did. “I don’t think I should bother all of you right now, so… can you pass everyone the message? And tell them I’m sorry that I cannot tell them in person.”

Irimi-san looked at his eyes for a while before she closed them resignedly.

“I understand. I’ll tell them. Just… try to be safe alright?” She said, squeezing his hands back and smiled back at him. “You’ve become someone we all treasure in our life. I don’t think we’ll ever recover if we have to lose you, too.”

“Irimi-san…” Harry nodded, determination in his eyes. “Yeah. I’ll do my best to come back here.”

“Good.” The woman smiled and pulled him into a tight hug before he pulled away and adjusted his hair with loving hands like an older sister. As she did this, from beyond the stairs suddenly a quiet voice broke through the comfortable silence.

“Harry-nii?”

Harry’s head jerked towards the source of the voice and saw Hinami poking her head from behind the wall with a worried expression. Irimi-san immediately went to her side as the little girl descended the stairs.

“Hinami-chan! You’re… where’s Shouji-kun? Wasn’t he supposed to watch over you?” The older woman fussed over Hinami who shook her head timidly as she accepted Irimi-san’s fussing.

“Shouji went after Nee-san… they got into an argument and she ran out the window and then I heard voices from downstairs and…” Hinami paused, biting her quivering lips. Her eyes darted towards him for an instant before she looked down to her bare feet.

“Harry-nii… are you leaving me too?”

Harry could see the faint redness in her eyes and the wetness in them that could only be tears and his heart ached seeing her look so heartbroken like that.

“Father’s gone now, and I know can never see him again.” Hinami said, voice so soft it was barely even a whisper. She paused, clenching her hands, before in a trembling voice, she looked him in the eyes and asked. “Are you going to leave me like that too?”

“No,” Harry said with conviction, shaking his head before he walked up to her and kneeled in front of her. He took her hands in his, squeezing them tightly. “I promise you with all I have that I will try my hardest to come back here.”

Hinami’s lip trembled, but she stubbornly refused to cry still.

“You… promise?” She asked, her voice small and unsure.

“I promise.” Harry smiled, nodding his head to reassure her. “Besides… you guys have my number, right? Call me anytime you want. If I’m somehow unable to answer, a friend of mine will receive it to tell you why I’m not able to receive it. That’s why… don’t cry, alright?”

“Yes…” The younger girl nodded slowly, hesitantly, but it was enough for Harry.

“Good. Now dry your tears. You’ll worry your mother if she saw you like this.” He said, reaching out with his thumbs to wipe the wetness from her eyelashes before he stood up and ruffled the girl’s hair.

“You have to stay strong for her, alright? And I’m giving you the task of keeping Touka-san and Shouji in line! They’ll cause trouble for Yoshimura-san and the others if I’m not here to stop them, so I’m trusting you with the job, Hinami-chan,” he said, grinning widely.

Hinami finally giggled and hide her smile behind her hands. “Yeah… I will.”

“Good girl. Now hug me.” Harry said, opening his arms and laughed when she immediately buried her face on his chest. He squeezed her body meaningfully before he released her, noting her noticeably brighter mood with a relieved sigh. He glanced at Irimi-san who was watching them like a proud older sister and he smiled at her.

“Take care of everyone for me, alright?” He asked her, and she nodded.

“I will.” Irimi-san smiled and joined their hug. “You take care too, Harry-kun.”

“Of course.”

 

 

 

Harry left them with heavy heart, but he fully intended to stay true to his promise, so he hoped that Hinami and the others wouldn’t be too upset about him leaving so suddenly.

Harry sighed. He had hoped that he could have at least see Shouji, Touka-san, and Koma-san for the last time before he had to go, but he guessed that it couldn’t be helped. In a way, maybe it was easier for all of them not to meet again since he knew how protective of him they were, but still…

Harry looked down sadly at his suitcase and only looked up again when he felt someone’s hand touching his. His eyes were met with a concerned look from Kaneki-kun. Immediately, Harry put on a smile and shook his head to dispel the older boy’s worries.

Both Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun insisted on sending him off and he knew that Hide-kun’s red and watery eyes were starting to make the black haired older boy suspicious, but the blond kept insisting that it was because he caught a cold. In the summer. Harry shook his head in amusement. Hide-kun was really bad at lying to Kaneki-kun.

He smiled, watching his friends bickering at the waiting seat as he phoned Hermione a few feets away to tell her that he’s going to board the plane soon. Their presence was a welcome comfort, what with him still uneasy from his earlier visit to Anteiku. As he was just finishing up his talk with the witch, however…

“…you'd get eaten up in a second, Kaneki.”

“What? Why…”

“A scrawny kid like you who just reads books all day in his room... you wouldn't stand a chance if you get attacked.”

“It's because I'm in my room all the time that I won't be attacked.”

There was a brief pause before he heard the blond’s voice again, and he sounded amused this time.

“That’s true.”

Harry furrowed his brows, finally paying attention to their conversation. _What in the world were they talking about?_ Harry thought as he said his goodbye to Hermione before ending the call.

Somehow he had a feeling that he shouldn’t return to his friends yet though so he stayed there, a few feet away from them, pretending to still having a call though he was actually eavesdropping on their conversation even as he berated himself for doing it to his friends. But, well. He _was_ curious. Sue him.

“You should take the time to read books in your house once in a while too, Hide,” he heard Kaneki-kun said with a small laugh, at which the blond he mentioned quickly retorted in a dry tone.

“No way no way. I'd fall asleep in 5 seconds.” Hide-kun groaned as he rested his head on his hands and Harry stifled a smile at that. Hide-kun never did like to read. It’s a wonder how he had managed to get into the same university as both Kaneki-kun and Shouji.

“But seriously, it doesn't feel real at all does it... even though we've experience it firsthand.” Kaneki-kun continued in a small voice and Harry’s smile dropped, finally realizing what it was they were talking about.

 _Ghouls_ , huh…

“Yeah… I mean, beings who 'look the same as humans', 'live the same way humans do', and 'eat humans'. Pretty fantastical thing, doesn't it? Like something out of a book.”

“Mm.”

There was silence as they collected their thoughts. Hearing the thoughtful tone in their voice somehow made him nervous. Harry continued to stand there awkwardly as he debated if he should come back there or not when suddenly—

“Man, hurry up and notice already, Kaneki.” Hide-kun said in a low, meaningful voice, “The _'Ghoul'_ that's closest to you...”

Harry knew logically that it was supposed to be a joke, but the way the blond said it… did Hide-kun figured out what he was? What his friends at Anteiku were?

Or was he implying that…

The hairs on his skin stood on end as a shiver ran through his body, but he tried to shake it off. There was simply no way that Hide-kun was a—despite being not as sharp as a ghoul’s, his nose had become more sensitive to scents and he was _certain_ that the blond was human.

It simply wasn’t possible, he thought, finally calming down as their black-haired friend opened his mouth again.

“Hide…” Kaneki-kun breathed just as nervously as Harry was before he finally let out an exasperated sigh as he flicked their blond friend’s fringe. “Stop joking like that. The security officers might hear you and take you away for interrogation.”

The blond let out a dramatic gasp. “They wouldn’t!”

“They totally would. You look suspicious already.” Though Harry couldn’t clearly see it, he was sure that Kaneki-kun was rolling his eyes upwards as he said this. “And I keep telling you that your roots are showing. The clash between your original hair color and your dyed ones is ridiculous.”

 _True_ , Harry thought as the corner of his lips involuntarily twitched upwards at that. Hide-kun, predictably, made a betrayed expression on his face.

“You take that back! I look beautiful no matter what my hair color is!”

Kaneki-kun rolled his eyes again. “Just be honest that you don’t have enough money to do your roots again.”

“Well, that too, but…” The blond trailed off, knowing that the black haired boy had got him. He huffed in annoyance before he finally spoke again. “Anyway! I’ve been meaning to tell you! That girl the other day. The one you ‘fell in love with at first sight’—”

“—I did not fall in love with her! Geez—”

“—she’s _way_ too out of your leagues, my friend. Give up.” Hide-kun said and Harry felt his heart skipped a beat, not expecting their conversation to take this route. That’s right. Harry hadn’t got the time to warn them yet about that woman—that _ghoul._

Harry bit his lower lip as he tried to think of a way to tell them without giving up the fact that Anteiku was the heart of the ghouls in their ward. In the first place, why did he even invited his very-much-human friends there anyway? _Stupid Harry! You could have avoided all this problem if you actually used your brain for once!_

“What? Why?” Kaneki-kun said, cutting Harry’s train of thought there. Harry glanced at his friends again and saw Hide-kun shaking his head sagely.

“You simply don’t have a chance. It’s better if you don’t get your hopes up.”

“But…” Kaneki-kun mumbled, sounding distraught. “She’s the first person I like in a really long time, and…”

There was a brief silence before Hide-kun finally sighed, sounding a bit frustrated, but not unkind.

“Look, it’s not like I could stop you if you still want to chase her, but girls aren’t something you choose based on looks. Make sure you’re certain before going for it, and when you do…” Hide-kun said, a small, wistful smile on his face. “I’ll cheer you on when that time comes.”

“Hide…”

 _Hide-kun…_ Harry thought the same time as Kaneki-kun breathed out the word. Harry’s eyes lingered on the blond’s smile—because it was a smile that conveyed so many things. Harry looked down, seeing that smile.

As he thought, Hide-kun was…

“I’m sure the squirt over there will cheer you on too, so… don’t jump into it too fast, alright?” The blond continued in his usual tone, grinning as he slapped his best friend’s shoulder. “We don’t want you getting hurt over full-chested girls.”

Kaneki-kun predictably blushed and Harry tried to stifle the giggle that was about to come out. “Hide! Don’t talk like that, it’s disrespectful!”

“Ha! You know what I’m talking about though!”

Harry looked down to hide his smile. At least he could be sure that someone will be there to protect Kaneki-kun—even from himself—while he was away. He knew that Hide-kun will do a great job at this. They had known each other forever after all, and because…

Harry finally decided that he had heard enough and came back as the blond made some bouncy hand gesture near his own chest and curled up his lips in amusement.

“How obscene.”

“Harry!” Both college students exclaimed in unison as they turned to see him standing behind them.

Hide-kun grinned and made another obscene gesture that made the mother that sat beside them cover her son’s eyes and threw him a _look._ Kaneki-kun gracefully slapped the blond’s shoulder, making him yelp, and shot him a _look_ too before he turned to the mother and made an apologetic gesture.

“Done making your call?” Kaneki-kun asked him and Harry nodded with a grin.

“Yup! Hermione will be waiting at Heathrow to pick me up when I arrive.” Harry explained, sliding his smartphone inside his cardigan’s pocket as he walked around to stand before his friends. As he stood there looking at them, Harry suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

He turned his face away from them to compose himself, but when they noticed that he had gone silent Kaneki-kun rose from his seat and touched his face in concern.

“…Harry-kun?” The black-haired boy asked him softly when he noticed the wetness on his lashes, but Harry just shook his head with a laugh.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just thinking that I’m going to miss you guys. Sorry for being a sap.” Harry told him wetly, and Kaneki-kun chuckled lightly.

“Come now, don’t cry. We’ll see each other soon, right?” Kaneki-kun said, glancing at Hide-kun for support, but grew confused when the blond looked almost as emotional as Harry was.

Harry looked down. It might not be right for him for not telling the black-haired boy the truth, but he wanted to protect him somehow. He didn’t want to make Kaneki-kun worried. He didn’t want to make him sad. If keeping him clueless was making him happy, then…

“Yeah, you’re right.” Harry smiled, looking up as he said it. He was about to steer the conversation to another topic when suddenly someone grabbed his arm from behind and pulled him backwards, making him tumble harshly with a yelp until his back suddenly hit a broad surface.

Harry twisted his neck to see who the hell it was that had done that to him when he saw—

“Shouji! What the hell?” Harry hissed, pulling himself away from the _other_ blond’s chest and turned so they could face each other. Shouji, as expected, hissed back at him as he put his hands on Harry’s shoulder.

“He made you cry!” The ghoul said, glaring with his teeth bared at his college juniors who immediately backed away with their arms raised to their chest in fear of their vicious senior who looked like he could maul them with his teeth alone. Well, he actually _could,_ but they didn’t know that.

“I cried because I’m emotional over having to leave Japan, stupid!” Harry yelled, suddenly feeling like he wanted to hit his head on a hard surface.

“Oh…” Shouji said dumbly as he loosened his grip on Harry’s shoulders, tension leaving his stance as he finally realized that he had misunderstood again. Harry shook his head and took Shouji’s hands away from his shoulders with a sigh.

“You’re unbelievable.” Harry finally said exasperatedly but fondly, squeezing the blond’s hands briefly before he let them go. Shouji looked like he wanted to say something, but he closed his mouth again when a familiar voice suddenly rang:

“Unbelievably stupid, right?”

Harry whipped his head to the direction of the voice and—

“Touka-san!” Harry exclaimed, pleasantly surprised by their appearance since he thought he wouldn’t be able to see them for the last time before his departure. “You’re here too?”

Touka-san put her hands on her hips and gave him the most irritated look Harry had seen her give him ever since they first met all those months ago while they were searching for Ayato-kun.

“We came as soon as Irimi-san told us.” The girl said a bit coldly and Harry’s joy at seeing the two ghouls wilted into guilt. He quickly glanced at Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun, who looked unsurely at him.

“Sorry, Kaneki-kun, Hide-kun… can I talk to them in private?” He said, flashing them a quick, reassuring smile. While still looking unsure, Kaneki-kun returned his smile.

“Sure. We’ll wait here.”

With their permission, he led Touka-san and Shouji to a secluded corner where they could talk uninterrupted and immediately the older girl rounded up on him, looking very much like she wanted to smack his head with her hand.

“Clever boy. Not telling us that you’re going until the very last minute.” Touka-san hissed the moment they had privacy. “Clever, but infuriating. If we’re not in a public place right now, I’d have kicked you for not telling us sooner instead of the same night you’re going away.”

“Ahaha… please don’t kick me.” Harry laughed nervously, not sure if she was joking or not.

Touka-san just squint at him in annoyance before she sighed, dropping her stance as she looked away to the side, avoiding his questioning gaze while Shouji just stood there behind the girl, looking like he wanted to say something but holding himself back from saying it just as he opened his mouth.

They stayed in that tense and slightly uncomfortable silence for a moment, before Touka-san finally broke it.

“You heard from Irimi-san, right? Hinami-chan’s father died. Killed by the Doves last night.”

At the reminder, Harry looked down and clenched his hands on his sides.

“…Yeah.”

Just when Harry expected the girl to scold him, he felt gentle but strong arms encircled his arms tightly. Startled, he looked up to see that Touka-san had just hugged him. Hesitantly as he was unsure of what to do, Harry raised his arms and hugged the girl back.

“Harry, you’re _one of us_ now, you know? You can rely on us. We’d help you if you’re in danger or need our help.” Touka-san said as she rested her forehead on Harry’s chest—one of her hand clutching the clothes he was wearing.

“I know. Believe me, I know. How could I not? All of you are so kind to me.” Harry immediately reassured as he pried his friend off him so that he could look at her eyes. Touka-san looked upset and Harry’s heart felt a twinge of guilt for causing it, but he had made a decision.

“But this isn’t something that any of you can do for me. I have to do this by myself.” He said that with conviction, hoping that she will understand. Because no matter how strong she was, this really was something that nobody but him could solve.

She seemed to search his gaze for something, but apparently she was satisfied with what she was seeing because she finally nodded at him.

“As long as you understand.” The girl said finally as she pulled away. She punched his chest lightly with a sigh and gave him a fond but exasperated look that she must have picked from him. “Come back safely, you hear me?”

“Wait—what? _Touka!_ ” Shouji suddenly cried out before Harry could respond to her. Both of them looked at the blond who immediately pull Touka-san to his side and started whispering at her. “I thought we agreed that we’d take him back with us by force if we had to!”

Wait. What?

“Change of plans, Foxy. Let him go. He have another life other than us. Responsibilities that he had to take care by himself.” Touka-san said firmly, shaking her head at the blond. “You should understand this yourself, right?”

Shouji bit his lip. “But—”

“Shouji?”

At the sound of Harry’s voice, the blond’s head suddenly snapped towards his direction and Harry finally saw his face. Shouji looked distraught, almost _heartbroken_. It honestly shook Harry’s heart—like what _made_ him look like that?

Harry saw him shove Touka-san aside before immediately after Harry felt a tug on his wrist. Before he knew it, his face had planted itself onto Shouji’s chest and he felt another strong set of arms encircled his body.

“Don’t leave us.” Shouji mumbled into his hair as he tightened his arms around him. It was followed by a small whisper that said, “Please,” like he didn’t really want Harry to hear with how faint it was.

But Harry heard it.

“Shouji…” Harry breathed out with a laugh, trying to lighten the situation. “I can’t. I have to. But I’ll come back after summer ends, you know? I won’t leave forever.”

The blond fell silent for a second before he muttered again.

“I’ll come with you then.”

And Harry was once again puzzled by the enigma that was Tohno Shouji.

Brash and loud (but actually caring), claimed that he hated humans (even though Harry could feel that it wasn’t really humans that he hated), really protective of the people he cared for (but picked fight with them constantly too), really childish (but also dependable), and now he apparently had separation anxiety too (even though he claimed that he didn’t really like people).

 _What am I going to do with you?_ Harry thought with a fond sigh.

“You can’t. Who will read to Hinami-chan then? Who will keep everyone’s spirits up in Anteiku?” Harry sighed, pushing lightly at the blond’s chest so that he let him go. Really, it wasn’t comfortable having a conversation when you couldn’t see your partner’s face.

“I’m sorry for not letting you guys know earlier, but I thought it was the best move since I have a feeling you’re going to be like this,” Harry said when he could finally see Shouji’s face again, which looked like a kicked puppy, he thought with a bit of amusement.

“You’re needed here, too. Especially in times like this. So stay and wait for me, okay? When I come back, you could be as selfish as you want. That’s why, until I come back, I have a request for you.” Harry said finally, hoping that this will appease the older man.

“…A request?”

“Yeah. I want you to look after Kaneki-kun and Hide-kun. Can you look after my friends for me?” Harry elaborated. “Like, intimidate them not to come to Anteiku for a while, maybe. Just… watch over them. I don’t want anything bad to happen to them while I’m not there.”

He watched as Shouji contemplated before he nodded sullenly.

“…For you,” the blond said finally. “I’ll do it for you, Harry. As long as you come back to us.”

Seeing the glint in Shouji’s eyes as he said that, suddenly Harry felt his heart beat a little bit faster and he became aware of how close their proximity was. With a slight flush, Harry put his hands on Shouji’s chest to keep them from getting too close.

Harry might not be _in love_ with the guy, but he had eyes alright. Shouji wasn’t exactly what you could call ugly after all.

“Thank you.” Harry said, looking down so that the blond couldn’t see the redness of his cheeks. “Can you let go of me already? I think I heard them call my plane for boarding.”

It was true, but his group haven’t been called yet so he had a little time left to get ready.

When Shouji finally let him go, Harry went back to his human friends to get his things, pretending not to see Touka-san whispering consolations to Shouji. It was their moment—something that he shouldn’t intrude.

“They’re really attached to you, huh.” Hide-kun commented as he helped Harry with his suitcase and carry-on. Harry smiled bashfully but contently as he nodded.

“Yeah.” Harry said. “They’re good friends.”

“Good for you, kid.” Hide-kun said, grinning at him and ruffling his hair until Harry swatted his hands with a hiss while Kaneki-kun looked on with a soft chuckle. When his group was finally called, Harry looked each of his friends’ eyes with a smile on his lips.

“Kaneki-kun. Hide-kun. Touka-san. Shouji,” Harry said before he bowed deeply towards them to convey his feelings of gratitude for everything they’ve done for him. When he pulled himself upright again, he saw that their eyes were red and watery. How stupid of them, even when he said that he would come back soon. Still…

Harry grinned widely and saluted at them.

“Thank you for seeing me off. All of you, please take care. Let’s meet again in two months, alright?”

And, without looking back even once, he left.

**Next chapter: Moonlight**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it still isn’t clear yet—it’s not Kaneki/Harry lol. 
> 
> I actually giggled out loud when some of you said that it was cute that Harry had a crush on Kaneki or how we need more Harry and Kaneki pairing and that you can’t wait until they get together. I’m really sorry I’m a horrible person but you all know how this ended up. Kaneki is straight and he fell for the wrong woman (ghoul) and got turned into one. 
> 
> Besides, I _did_ write in the story summary that Kaneki is Harry’s important _friend_ and warned you in chapter 4 that there would be about _five pairings with unrequited love_ in this story. Harry/Kaneki is first, Hide/Kaneki is second (which is actually my OTP), so three more to go! Two of them are canon actually. And contained only 2 person, but it goes both way so I’m counting it as two pairings.  
>  __  
> (Spoiler)
> 
>  
> 
> _(It’s Touka/Kaneki and Kaneki/Touka)_
> 
>  
> 
>  _(Yes they like each other but since they’re both too stupid to admit it to each other, it’s unrequited ok don’t argue with my logic)_  
>   
>  So only one more pairing to go! I think this one is really obvious from the start, so I won’t bother writing it here. As I told you before, **Promakhos** actually got all of them right except one lol. Touka/Shouji will never happened because they’re both big tsundere who are too similar to each other.
> 
> Thank you all for reading! You can bash me as much as you want if the not-pairing disappoint you that much lol.  
> Anyway, here’s translation for the Japanese part. 
> 
> **• Shopkeeper:** Welcome to Floria! Is there anything I could help you with?  
>  **• Shopkeeper:** Eh, this is bad! Sayaka-chan, it's a foreigner customer!  
>  **• Shopkeeper:** Eeh, what shuld I do? Even though I don't speak English that well...  
>  **• Harry:** In Japanese is fine. (or, I can speak Japanese, so it's alright.)  
> Hm? Why did I make that part in Japanese when almost all dialogues since chapter 1 is supposed to be Japanese and was written in English? Don’t ask me lol, it just make sense at the time for me to write that part in Japanese, even though now that I think about it, they’re really not.


End file.
